Helljumpers
by E.J.C.Graves
Summary: Friends who become ODSTs are thrust into combat against fierce enemies and must fight to survive. Leave a comment if you like it.
1. Chapter 1 First Drop

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft.**

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**October 17, 2551**

**13:43 Hours, Reach Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Training**

**Trainee group 35408**

**Drop Training 3**

**Live Jump 1**

**Ship: UNSC _Winter Hawk_**

**First Drop**

We drop in five… four… three… two… Drop! There was a sharp jolt and rapid acceleration downward. The small pod he was in grew hot as it passed through the outer layers of the atmosphere. He looked over at the small screen which held the temperature of the pod; it read the temperature as one hundred five degrees. Sweat started to form and bead on his skin. He looked forward outside of the door of the pod. He saw the blue sky and green land of Reach. It relieved him for a second or two. He had trained for the last two years for this day, his first jump. He began to feel nervous as he imagined all the horrible metaphysical situations that could occur at the time. What if his drag chute didn't deploy? What if his reverse engines didn't fire? What if? What if….

As he thought of this, his pulse spiked. A second later he heard the crisp voice of his drop instructor, "Hey, Corporal, keep it cool over there. Don't start to panic. If you want to become a Helljumper, you'll need to overcome your fears. Remember only the best of the best become ODST's. You've made it this far through training, don't bug out yet." The Trainee sucked in his breath, held it in for a moment, and released it.

Then he was calm. Well, as calm as a person can be when plummeting at terminal velocity downward toward a planet's surface. He looked out again through the door and looked out at the sixty other pods freefalling with his. Once again he heard the voice of the instructor, "Okay. Everybody, release drag chutes in four… three… two… deploy!" The recruit punched a button on the touch panel and felt the shock of a metal alloy chute pulling on the air around his pod. Almost instantaneously it felt as if his stomach would fall out of his body because of sudden deceleration. This loss in speed was caused by several rockets fixed to the bottom of the pod firing upward. The Trainee's bones started shaking with the bump of the chute and the thrusters. He gripped the small steering handles hard enough with his hands, he thought they would break. A few seconds later the pod touched down with a loud _CHUNG!_ The Trainee watched his helmet's faceplate turn dark. He knew this was to allow his eyes to adjust to the sunlight outside more readily. The Trainee tapped the touch panel again and his pod's door jettisoned outward with a hiss and a bang. The Trainee grimaced under his helmet as his pod's door nearly hit another recruit and his instructor. His instructor walked over to the Trainee at a rapid pace.

"_Oh, Crap. There goes my chance of being an ODST." _Thought the Trainee as the instructor stood face to face with him. "Corporal," started the instructor as he turned and pointed at the pod door lying on the ground, "was that your pod door?" The Trainee's throat went dry as he looked down at the door and back at the instructor. He tried to swallow, but he couldn't. So he spoke slowly, "Yes sir. That is my door." He dreaded what the instructor was going to say next. As the instructor opened his mouth to speak, the trainee cringed a little, but the instructor said something very unexpected. The instructor said, "Next time you pop the door off, look for friendlies. Those doors can injure or possibly kill any unsuspecting alien that gets in the way. The same applies to humans. So, next time watch out. By the way, smooth landing, Corporal." Underneath his helmet he had a face of disbelief. He had just gotten a compliment from an ODST.

He stood there for a second and watched his instructor walk away to help out another marine who couldn't pop his door off. The Trainee looked up at the blue sky and grinned. He didn't move for about a minute, he just stared off into space. Being proud of himself, he strolled into the middle of the clearing where they all had landed and waited for his next order.

He didn't have to stand there long, because the instructor walked to the middle of the clearing and told everyone to group around him. The Trainee thought he heard something out in the distance, but ignored it. But just to be sure, he looked down at his right thigh and checked that his pistol was there. The instructor waited for everyone to regroup and took off his helmet. He motioned for all of them to do the same. When he saw everyone's face, he spoke, "I have to say that I'm impressed with what I've seen today. For the first time I had a first drop with no deaths or major accidents. But I hope you marines didn't think you were gonna get off that easily. The main base here on Reach is about seven mile east of here. I think that you guys need to burn off that adrenaline, so a healthy jog is in order." As he finished the last sentence, the sound the Trainee had heard grew into the growl of a warthog. A green door less warthog approached from a path that had cut through the trees of the light forest surrounding the clearing. The Trainee recognized it as a transport model, because of the lack of weapons and the big open seats in the back. The two men in the 'hog hopped out of the vehicle and shook hands with the instructor. The men wore the armor of ODSTs except for the helmets. The Trainee ran his fingers through his coarse, close cropped, brown hair and scratched his head as he wondered what trick the instructor was going to pull on them.

The instructor reached into the back of the 'hog and pulled out a megaphone. He spoke clearly into the device, "All recruits, fall into two lines and follow the warthog to the base." On that note, the instructor hopped into the back of the warthog and watched the younger marines with a grin.

The Trainee put his helmet back on and ran to the front of the right line. He was the first to make it there. Everyone fell in behind him and the recruit next to him. The run to the base was actually enjoyable, except for the instructor wanting them to keep pace with a warthog going seventeen miles an hour. The Trainee liked the ODST armor, it was lighter than the bulky standard issue UNSC Marine Corps armor. The Trainee grinned even wider underneath his helmet when the Instructor started naming off "today's specials" at the Mess Hall on base.

The instructor had them run all the way to the Hall, as it was called. He stopped, congratulated them all and told them tomorrow's assignments. As the rest of recruits walked into the Mess Hall, the instructor stopped the Trainee. He led him over to the warthog and introduced him to the other ODSTs. "Meet Lieutenant Peterson and Colonel Roberts, from Squad 849," the instructor told him as the Trainee saluted them. Colonel Roberts spoke first, "Corporal, we have been keeping up with this batch of trainees and we have found that they are all excellent, but not extraordinary with their prior achievements… That is except for you, son. You have a spotless record, with over a hundred and fifty confirmed Covenant kills in the short three years you have been in the Corps." Lieutenant Peterson was the next to speak, "You have the skills to become an ODST, but you haven't overcome your fears yet, according to your instructor. We will be watching the rest of your training drops, to see if you improve in that area. If you do, you might have a job as an ODST. Keep up the work, Corporal, and you might become one of the best." With that, the Major put his hand on the Trainee's shoulder and was answered with a swift salute and a "Yes sir! Thank you sir!" The instructor dismissed the Trainee and proceeded to talk to the other ODSTs. The Trainee went into the "Hall" with a grin the size of a battleship. The Trainee had both passed his first drop and was going to be monitored by real ODSTs for the next few months. He had never been happier in his life.


	2. Chapter 2 Graduation

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft. **

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**October 17, 2551**

**14:38 Hours, Reach Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Training**

**Trainee group 35408**

**Drop Training 3**

**Live Jump 1 – Completed**

**Location: Reach UNSC Base**

**New Arrivals**

The Trainee sat in the Hall, eating some of the best food he had had in a long time from the Hall. When he wasn't chewing on the Cuban bread given to him, he was smiling. He had just basically gotten offered a job from a newly formed ODST squad. To put it simply, he was ecstatic. He sat there and ate his beef pot roast with glee and watched the other recruits eat. Every once in a while, he would look out the doorway to see if his instructor, the Major, and the Colonel were still outside. He saw them get back into the warthog and drive back the way they came about thirty minutes before the next group of recruits came through the glass doors of the mess hall. About the time, the next wave of men and women came in, the Trainee had gotten a refill on his drink.

The Trainee sat alone at his table, until another recruit sat a few feet to his left. The other man leaned and started talking to him, "Hey bro, how was you drop?" the Trainee looked over at him, "Eh, it wasn't that bad. I only got a compliment and a job offer from the leaders of an ODST squad." The other recruit leaned back, pretending to be impressed, "Well… that's quite the story, but I can say that the same happened to me." The Trainee nodded his head and gave one of his best friends a high five.

Right as they were about to pound fists, they were shoved aside as a female marine sat between them. "I figured you ladies looked pretty lonely." She said to the two recruits. The trainee looked over to her and said, "Hey, look who decided to show up! How did the Battling Blonde fair today on her first drop?" The woman laughed as she set her plastic tray, on which her food and drink were resting. She brushed back a strand of her "dirty" blonde hair and smiled. She took a bite of her food, pointed at the other recruit beside her and replied, "Uh, well, it was the same as his. We got a positional offer from the lieutenant and colonel of the squad 849, but other than that nothing too adventurous. That is unless you consider a drop through the atmosphere in a five foot by four foot by three foot pod an adventure." They all laughed at the last statement made. They clinked glasses, tilted their heads and drank to a successful drop. The Trainee waited for the others to finish their lunches and talked a little bit more.

As they all started to head out, the Trainee asked the other two, "Hey, do you guys know where the barracks are?" The other two recruits answered in unison, "Nope." The group of friends laughed as they had two years ago when they had first met in the Corps. They just continued to hang out for the rest of the day. The group finally separated when they reached the male and female barracks after dinner. The Trainee shook his friends' hands and when to his bunk.

The Trainee walked lazily over to his bunk. He climbed on to the top bed, grabbed some clothes and a towel, and headed off to the showers. Ten minutes later, he returned to his bunk. He hopped onto the bunk and rested his head on pillow. He thought back to the events of the day. He imagined what the future could hold. He saw him with his two best friends, fighting the Covenant with the others in Squad 849. He smiled to himself. That dream would just have to wait, there were nine other drops left, three more months of training, and numerous challenges ahead of him. But maybe, just maybe, that dream could come true.

**January 22, 2552**

**16:00 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Induction**

**Graduating Trainee Group 35408**

**Induction Ceremony**

**All Live Jumps Completed**

**Location: UNSC Orbital Defense Platform _Cairo _**

**Orbiting Earth**

**Graduation**

The Trainee stood at attention as he looked up at Lord Hood, the current UNSC Fleet Commander, as he gave a speech to his trainee group at their induction into the band of brothers, otherwise known as the ODSTs. He knew that he was saying a generic speech that did not single out any specific trainee group, because the speech was being broadcasted to multiple other orbital defense platforms. He was standing next to his friends, the blonde and the other male recruit. This was a day he had dreamed of ever since he joined the corps.

The group had been shipped off to earth for the graduation ceremony a week before and had reached the planet just twelve hours ago. The ride on the _Winter Hawk_, he guessed, had gone without a glitch. He would not have known, because he had been asleep in a cryo tube the entire time.

There he stood on the command deck of the _Cairo. _He was in his new, black, ODST dress uniform, proud of himself. He listened intently to Lord Hood's voice as he pointed out that they ODSTs were to be held by a stricter code of honor than the average marine. He said that the new uniform symbolized that they were the elite, the best a marine could be. He said they were truly the few and the proud _of the marines_. He went on for about five to ten more minute, the Trainee couldn't tell, until he finally raised his right hand into a salute. Every graduating recruit lifted their hand in to a formal salute and held it there until Lord Hood lowered his hand.

A brigadier general in the ODSTs came up to the podium and told them to sit down. He said, he would call up the name of each graduate and award them with the insignia of the ODST. The general stood up there for twenty minute, naming off soldiers, shaking their hands, awarding them the insignia, and congratulating them. The Trainee grew impatient and anxious as he waited for his name to be called. His friends beside him were called up fairly early on, because of the general was going in alphabetical order. Finally, he heard, "Eric Segraves." The Trainee almost jumped out of his skin, but he forced himself to remain under control. He walked up the side aisle and up to the podium, where he was greeted by the brigadier general. He saluted him and shook his hand. The general placed the metal insignia of the Orbital Drop Shock Trooper into the Trainee's open hand. The general looked him in the eye and said, "Welcome Corporal Segraves to the ODSTs." The man dismissed him by shaking his hand a second time.

Corporal Segraves walked back to his seat, between his two friends in complete silence. He didn't know if he was in shock or if he had just become mute (which he hoped wasn't the case), but he could not talk at all. When he sat down, he looked in his cupped hands at the metal emblem. It had a skull and banner over the shape of a drop pod. The banner read: ODST. He sat in his chair, politely watching the last twenty minutes of the ceremony.

When it was all over, him and his friends got out and walked to get some refreshments. Outside of the doors, Colonel Roberts and Lieutenant Peterson were standing, waiting for them. The Colonel walked up to them. "Corporals," he started as he was handed papers from the lieutenant, "here are your next troop assignments. You are officially part of Squad 849. You will pack up your bags and move onto the UNSC _Swift Justice_ as of tonight. I now own your sorry butts." He smiled at them, "Congratulations to all of you. You are all now officially ODSTs. As of tomorrow, you will meet up with the rest of the squad and train with us for the next ten months." On that note, the two officers were saluted by the three corporals and left. That night, the three of them packed all their gear, got onto a shuttle bound for the _Swift Justice_, and set up in their new bunks. They prepared for the next few months in less than four hours. When they hit their beds, they went out for the night.


	3. Chapter 3 Squad Training

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft. **

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**January 23, 2552**

**5:45 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72nd Company**

**Squad 489 **

**Squad Training Exercises**

**Location: UNSC Cruiser _Swift Justice_**

**Squad Training**

The Trainee, now Corporal Segraves, woke with a start as the _Swift Justice_'s PA system announced, "All personnel in Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Squad 849, report to the shooting range immediately." Immediately, he hopped out of bed, and threw on his Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) as fast as he could. He clipped the M6D pistol, which was issued to him by the naval officer that checked him onto the ship, to his hip. He sprinted to the door of his cramped little room, grabbed his BDU helmet, and opened the door. He dashed out of the room, rounded the nearest corner, and ran as fast as he could to the armory/shooting range.

As the doors parted automatically for him, the sounds of gunfire reached his ears. At the time the place was pretty empty, but he saw marines and regular navy personnel using the lanes for discharging weapons (and possibly anger). He strode past the firing lanes and searched for the reason he had been called down for. He didn't see anything at first, until a man in black BDU pants and had a pistol in its hostler. The man had a buzz cut that was so short, that his hair color was indistinguishable. He had a wide jaw and green eyes. The man stood there for a second, pointed to Segraves and yelled over the din of the gunfire, "Hey! You! Yeah, you, Newbie, come here!" Segraves walked over to him. When he reached him, the man walked away and motioned for him to follow.

Obediently, Segraves followed him to the end of the range; where in a large open lane with no separating walls were the rest of the team. Standing there was Colonel Roberts, standing with the lower half of his BDU and a M6-SOCOM pistol (M6S) in his hands. When the Colonel looked up and saw him, he laughed and holstered his weapon. "Well, it looks as if you are ready to go for a drop, Corporal. I think this might be why you are late." The middle age man laughed again.

Segraves looked down at his BDU and up at everyone else, who had on only part of their BDUs. Obviously, he was visibly embarrassed, because Lieutenant Peterson walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, soldier, we were going to go through weapons qualifications. The recruit felt a little better at that comment. The Colonel walked up to Segraves and made sweeping motion with his hands at the other people in front of Segraves. Corporal, meet Squad 849: Lieutenant Peterson, who you've met before; your fellow Corporals, and Lance Corporal Charlie Brunkst." Charlie was the guy who had labeled him "Newbie". Lieutenant Peterson stepped up toward the firing line and tapped a touch screen pad that was attached to a wall, and turned to face the squad. He pulled a small touchpad from his pocket and said, "Okay, first shooter to the line: Colonel Roberts." The Colonel stepped up to the shooting line and asked, "Which weapon, Lieutenant?" The Lieutenant fumbled with the touchpad and replied, "Oh. The… pistol." The Colonel nodded, drew his pistol (which the recruit noticed was longer than the average pistol and had a wider barrel), and tapped a button on the firing shelf in front of him.

When he touched the button a target, seventy yards down range popped up. The target had the outline of a grunt, a species of alien that was part of the Covenant infantry. The simple picture of the alien held a plasma pistol, which was pointed at the shooter. The target had small bull's eyes on the vulnerable parts of the body, such as the head, knees, neck, and the middle of the chest. When the target popped up, the small touch screen that the Lieutenant had touched earlier, displayed the target. As soon as he was given the permission to fire by the computer, the Colonel let loose the pistol. He emptied his first magazine in less than two seconds, a feat that Segraves had never seen done before. The Colonel emptied five magazines before the computer ordered him to stop. Segraves was astonished by how quiet the integrated suppressor was. The touch screen to his right displayed all of the places where the bullets had hit. There was an even twelve bullets for each bull's eye. The Lieutenant looked over at the Colonel, "Colonel, sixty over sixty hits, perfect score." Colonel Roberts stepped back from the line and made an over-exaggerated bow. He set the gun down and backed away from the line. Looked over to the Lieutenant and asked, "Next?"

The Lieutenant looked down at the touchpad and looked up at the rest of them. "Corporal Brandy Halverson," he started, "you are next at the line for the pistol." Segraves smirked at this; he had known her since late elementary school, so he knew her pretty well. He knew that she was able to work wonders with the M6G pistol, but this one shot a slightly bigger round, and the M6S was bigger in length. The female corporal stepped up to the line, rather hesitantly, picked up the weapon, slid a fresh magazine into the handle, and aimed it at the target. She had a look of utter concentration on her angular face. Segraves almost laughed when he saw her stick the very tip of her tongue out of the left corner of her lips. She always did that when she was aiming a gun for accuracy and not to kill. She tensed her shoulders up as she waited for the computer to give her the go-ahead. The computer gave her the green light. She released the tension in her shoulders, gently squeezed the trigger, and looked straight down the sights. The gun made a soft _pftt_ and the recoil ejected the spent shell. After the first shot, she squeezed off round after round in quick succession, just like she always had. Round after round hit the target as shell after shell hit the floor. In less than twenty seconds, she had fired her five magazines. She ejected the final magazine, set the gun down on the table.

Next up in line was Eric himself. He was slightly nervous, but, it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He put his hands together and cracked his knuckles and pulled his M6D off from his hip and aimed it downrange. When he did this, the Lieutenant put his hand on top of the bulky pistol and forced it down. "Try this one soldier," he said, as he handed Segraves the M6S, "you'll find this one a little better." Segraves shrugged, he had never had any trouble with pistols, though he did prefer the M6C magnum. That pistol could unload quickly with little recoil. With that in mind, he raised the M6S and slid a fresh mag into the grip. He lifted the pistol and noticed it had nearly the same weight as the M6C, maybe this wasn't so bad of a gun anyway. He looked straight down the sights at the head of the target. "_Bye bye grunty."_ He thought as he waited for the signal to open fire. The computer stated he could fire. He squeezed the trigger. Time seemed to slow as the gun recoiled back and chambered another round. He pulled the trigger repeatedly; the rounds flew downrange and hit the target sixty times. Segraves was out of magazines in less than thirteen seconds.

He stood there, holding the pistol in firing position for a moment. The barrel of the weapon was smoking from the amount of bullets that had exploded from it. He gingerly set the gun down and stepped away from the table. He looked over at the touch display. The hits were displayed in extremely tight groups. Lance Corporal Brunkst looked up at the display, cocked his head, and he said, "Are you sure you hit that target sixty times?" Segraves almost laughed as the right corner of his mouth twisted up into a small smile as he walked away from the line. The Colonel clapped his hand together a few times, "Very good shooting, son. The M6S pistol will be one of the most important tools in your arsenal, when you're fighting against the Covies."

The Lieutenant called up Lance Corporal Brunkst next. He went up to the line, picked up the pistol and started shooting. He had a relaxed style of shooting; he shot much slower than the others, but he was more precise with his aiming. He was a good shot, but slightly worse than Segraves.

After him was one of Segraves' best friends, Jason Broward. Segraves was surprised by how well he shot, considering he had never been proficient in anything but close to medium range weapons like the MA5B assault rifle. He achieved fifty five of sixty hits on the critical areas of the target and landed all the rounds on the target. This was extremely good for Jason at that range without a longer barreled weapon. He would undoubtedly be the team's CQB (Close Quarters Battle) expert.

The final person to shoot the pistol was the Lieutenant. Peterson shot well, but voiced before that the pistol wasn't his favorite weapon. He shot about as well as the Lance Corporal. After the Lieutenant's score had been tallied up, the screen brought up a leaderboard for the team. Segraves grinned when he saw that his name was at the top, even above his commanding officers. Colonel Roberts gave him a pat on the shoulder and congratulated him on his shooting. He was given a high five from his friends and a slap on the back from Lance Corporal Brunkst.

Colonel Roberts walked over to the wall where the touch screen was and grabbed a bag that was leaning against it. He brought it over and unzipped it by the table. He pulled out an SMG from the bag. This one was slightly different, because it had a longer and wider barrel, but the breach was still the same size. "Boys, and girl, meet the M7 Socom. It is like your standard M7 caseless submachine gun, but it has a silencer integrated into the barrel and it only holds forty eight rounds in the clip. This thing is as quiet as a whisper and as deadly as a cobra. This pretty little thing will be your best friend in close quarters combat. And on a side note, this SMG can link up to your BDU helmet's HUD (Heads Up Display) and has a two times scope built in." The Colonel finished his statement by placing a magazine on the left side of the gun, pulled back the charging bolt, released it, and stepped up to the line. He squeezed several rounds out of the suppressor on the gun's semi-automatic setting. He then flipped the switch and unloaded the rest of the clip into the target. Colonel Roberts set the gun down, pulled another clip from the bag, and tossed it to Segraves. "Segraves, you're up first."

Segraves stepped up to the line, put the tab of the magazine in the receiver, pushed the magazine flush against the gun, and put the gun to his shoulder. He flipped the ROF switch (Rate of Fire) to "Semi" and squeezed the trigger several times. The gun was fairly light, about the same as the pistol, and the M7S was accurate for a submachine gun. He then toggled the switch to automatic and pulled the trigger back. The light weapon bucked against his shoulder lightly as each bullet exited the barrel. The recoil was less than that of the normal M7, but that was to be expected for the suppressed version. The gun started to ride up, due to the bolt of the gun moving back to exit the excess gas. When he was finished, he released the magazine and tilted the gun to the left and watched it fall.

Segraves handed the gun off to Corporal Halverson. She walked up to the line and fired all of the rounds and handed the gun off to Corporal Broward. The rest of the squad used the gun and waited for their next orders. The Colonel was in the middle of pulling out a S2 version sniper rifle, when the ship's PA system went off. The ship's Captain said, "I need ODST squad 849 to report to the bridge immediately." The Colonel immediately put all the longer weapons in the duffel bag and the pistol on his hip. The entire squad followed him to the bridge of the ship, where they were greeted by Captain Smith.

The Captain stood there for a moment, visually inspecting each member of the squad. He finally looked back at the Colonel and began, "Jack, it's good to see you again; it's been a while." Colonel Roberts smiled and shook his hand, "Too long, Kyle; too long indeed." The two shook each other's hand and grinned. The Captain looked at the rest of the team, "So this is the rest of the newest ODST squad. It's a pretty young group; do you think they are up to the task?" The Roberts backed up, looking at the squad, and replied, "I don't believe they are incapable, but they are not fully trained. But I do believe they could survive if thrown into combat."

Captain Smith nodded in approval. He then turned around as a navigation technician got his attention. "Sir, do we initiate the slipspace jump in five minutes" The Captain pondered this for a moment, then he replied, "No, hold off the jump to Reach for ten minutes, then you have permission to make the jump." The Captain turned back to the team as a "Sir, Yes Sir!" could be heard from behind him. The Captain finished the conversation with them, "Colonel, you heard the man, we jump for Reach in ten minutes. Get your team to the 'Freezers' immediately." The Colonel nodded and moved his team out of the bridge.

The entire team headed to the Cryo bay, the team members who weren't doing anything important for the two week trip to Reach (the corporals), stripped down and hopped into the cryotubes. (the reason they stripped down is to not get "freezer burn" which is the onset of light burns and blisters where the cryogel doesn't touch the skin) The rest of the team eventually got into cryotubes after they had put the weapons and such away.

Shortly after the entire was placed, the slight bump of the _Swift Justice_ jumping into Slipspace could be felt by everyone who was still awake on the ship.


	4. Chapter 4 Rendezvous Training

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft. **

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**February 9, 2552**

**10:38 Hours, Reach Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72nd Company**

**Squad 849**

**Squad Rendezvous Training Exercise**

**Location: Reach,**

**Thirty-seven Kilometers outside of Military Reservation 01478-B**

**Rendezvous Training**

"Come on guys, this is really awkward!" said Corporal Jason Broward, objecting to the conversation that Corporals Segraves and Halverson were having while walking to Rendezvous Point Alpha. Jason always felt out of place when the two started talking with each other about the current subject.

"So," Segraves began, "Scream or no scream?" It took Corporal Halverson a moment to come up with an answer to that question, but she finally did. "Well, it all depends on how you perform." Segraves laughed loudly, he cleared the tint from his visor and looked over at the shapely blonde woman, "_Really_... well, we'll just have to find out then."

This time, Corporal Brandy Halverson raised her head and let out a huge laugh. "My turn. My turn. Do you go hard from the start or what?" she asked Segraves, who was standing next to her. The Corporal kept walking and then replied, "Please, bitch, I start off slow, but by the time I'm done, you'll be screaming out of both joy and pain." Broward could be heard a few steps back, "Can you guys please stop, this is so awkward!" Halverson laughed hard, looked over at Segraves again, and replied with a cocked eyebrow "Wow, you're really that bad? Screamin' out of pain?"

Segraves laughed, as he shoved her lightly with his elbow. "Hey, I haven't heard any complaints yet," he said with a smile. Broward spoke up again, "Oh my God! I hope you two still remember, YOU'RE BOTH STILL VIRGINS!" The two Corporals both laughed and fell silent as the group continued to trudge through one of the many deciduous forests of reach. The two always did this when they were only around Broward, just because he always was embarrassed by the conversations.

They had all landed on Reach about a week ago and had immediately entered into training on the UNSC ODST training grounds around Military Reservation 01478-B. Today they were doing a squad exercise that taught teamwork and what they would do if separated during a drop. They were currently about thirty-seven kilometers to the west of the Reservation. The area they were in was heavily forested woodland. They were headed for a clearing about three mile away, where they would meet the colonel and lieutenant. They had been dropped off at different locations by a pelican and were given orders to rendezvous and regroup at the clearing.

Out of a corner of their vision, another ODST came approaching from the left. He walked up and joined the rear of the group next to Broward. He depolarized his visor and respondet to Browards loud comment, "Virgins? Well, ain't that a shame." The newcomer was Lance Corporal Brunkst. The two younger corporals laughed a bit at this comment.

Broward walked on ahead, as Segraves fell a little back in the group. Segraves was walking diagonally behind Corporal Halverson. He turned back to see Lance Corporal Brunkst staring at Corporal Halverson's backside. He laughed softly to himself as he dropped back and walked beside Brunkst. "Enjoying the view, Sir?" he asked the Lance Corporal quietly, so Corporal Halverson couldn't hear. Brunkst looked over at him and nodded. "Eh, a little bit," he started, "it's not a bad view. Hey, you think I've got a chance?" Segraves snorted as he tried to contain he laughter. "Hell no, Sir. You don't have the slightest chance with her." Brunkst was surprised by this, "Why don't you think I don't have a chance?" Segraves, still trying to keep his laughter inside, replied, "First of all, you're not foreign. The last person she dated was an Australian navy officer from ONI (Office of Navy Intelligence) and that's how she got sent to the unit of her request, which was mine and Broward's unit. And second, you're not mentally unstable. That same ONI officer wound up going criminally insane after she broke up with him. That guy now lives in a mental ward on Mars. So to put it lightly, No, you're not her type. Besides, the only person she'd probably date in this entire squad is me, because we have known each other for about fifteen years." When he was finished with his statement, Segraves walked off to join Broward at the front.

When he reached the front, he linked a personal comm channel with Corporal Halverson. He kept looking forward as he spoke into his mike, "Brandy, LC Brunkst has watch over the rear." He heard a sigh come from behind him. The sigh was followed by a, "Can you please stop staring at my ass?" Lance Corporal Brunkst brought up that he was her superior officer and she revised her statement to, "Can you stop staring at my ass, _Sir_?" She then walked past Broward and Segraves and thanked Segraves as she passed. Segraves turned around and shrugged back to Brunkst as he kept walking.

About thirty minutes later they arrived at the rendezvous point. The group entered the clearing simultaneously as Colonel Roberts and Lieutenant Peterson came in from the opposite side of the meadow. The entire squad joined up at the center of the meadow. Colonel Roberts began his lesson for the day, "Guys, this exercise was to simulate how squads need to regroup in case we get separated during a drop. We will be extracted in about an hour, so until then, listen to me." He continued telling them the importance of teamwork. He pointed out that they weren't SPARTANs and they couldn't go do a mission alone, they always had to work as a team. They were deadly on their own, but they were nigh unstoppable if they worked as a team.

They were picked up later that day and were dropped off into a mock battle against other squads using paintball weapons. That was how the next two months went. They usually consisted of a daily exercise, and then a competition every week between squads, whether they were against ODSTs or against marines. Life was actually fun for the Corporals, they actually had a fairly nice squad leader, they were winning all the paintball wars, the exercises weren't all that challenging, and they were used to dropping from orbit. That was until July 1, 2552. After that day, their lives would never be the same.

**July 1, 2552**

**06:22 Hours, Reach Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72nd Company**

**Squad 849**

**Squad Rest & Relaxation**

**Location: Reach**

**Military Reservation 01478-B **

**Barracks 13**

**Moving Out**

Segraves, Broward, Brunkst, and Halverson were all sitting at a table in the common room of their barracks at the ODST training center on Military Reservation 01478-B. They were joking and laughing like best friends would do. Brunkst had been accepted into the group as a friend, even though he was still trying to get with Halverson. They were sitting on two separate couches discussing the day's paintball battle. Broward was currently trying to reenact a "kill" he got on another ODST and was using a water bottle as a prop. He tried to act out how he dove around a corner from a paint grenade, but he only succeeded in tripping over a table and chair in the process. The rest of them laughed at this until they almost cried.

Colonel Roberts walked in with Lieutenant Peterson at that very moment. He looked down at Broward, splayed out across the floor of the common room, and he shook his head. He began speaking, "Listen up, all of you. We are moving out. I know it is short notice, and I'll be cutting your squad training a little early, but orders came down from Lord Hood's office. The _Swift Justice _has returned to Reach to pick us up and we will be their premier squad of ODSTs on board. We are being shipped off to Sigma Octanus IV. So get up, pack your bags and get out of my sight.

Segraves walked off after a "Yes, Sir." He started packing his bags. Something didn't feel right. Not about him being shipped off, but something felt off about the planet they were going to. Somehow, this would be a bad experience he would not forget.


	5. Chapter 5 Hell's Waiting Room

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft. **

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**July 10 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**12:00 Hours, Slipspace Time Estimate**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72nd company**

**Squad 849**

**Slipspace Course Set for: Sigma Octanus IV**

**Squad Members in Cryogenic Sleep: (4 out of 6)**

**Location: UNSC Cruiser _Swift Justice_**

**ODST Drop Pod Bay 4**

**Hell's Waiting Room**

Corporal Eric Segraves sat in the _Swift Justice_'s fourth drop pod bay, or "Hell's Waiting Room", as it was affectionately known as. He was sitting on the grated metal floor with his BDU and two cans of Armor spray paint. He had the armor laid out on the ground with its arms and legs spread out. He took the spray can of blood red paint and sprayed two vertical lines, about two finger-widths wide, evenly across from each other going up the front of the armor. Then he angled the tip of the nozzle and sprayed a thinner line offset about an inch from the wider line on the right side of the armor. He then swapped out the nozzle for a finer drawing head and proceeded to draw the outlined visage of two swords crossing over the shield (Like the symbol representing the Heroic difficulty in the game series.). He then filled the shapes in with the other can of paint, which was gold. He looked at the armor, thinking of how it would save his life someday. He wasn't quite sure of how this trip to Sigma Octanus IV would go, but something wasn't right.

He sat there for a moment and started to swap heads on the red can. He was about to start on the wide strip for the helmet, but he heard the hiss of an opening door. The personnel must have been either an ODST or a high ranking officer, because anyone who wasn't wasn't permitted to enter. He stopped, set down the cylindrical spray can and looked up. He heard footsteps and the clinking of a can of armor paint being shaken. A moment later, Corporal Brandy Halverson rounded the corner, holding her BDU and a grey can of paint. She waltzed over to the pod across from him, which had her name printed on the sides, and sat down next to it. She leaned her back against the metal pod and spoke to him, "What's up, Sexy Ass? I got bored, so I came in here to paint my armor, and I found you here," she said without looking up. Segraves smirked at the nickname, which had been given to him in high school, and continued to paint the helmet as he replied, "I am fine, Miss totally boneable blonde, but I must say that something feels off on this trip. I mean, we have six days onboard the _Justice_ and I already have bad vibes about this next week. So I came down here and just started to paint." He held up the drawing of the shield and swords. Across the gap of five feet, Halverson gave him the thumbs up. Segraves began working on the shoulders of the armor. There he drew the Shield and swords on both shoulder pieces. He then colored them with gold. He looked up at Halverson, who was drawing a skull with a Mohawk on the shoulder pieces of the armor. She picked up the helmet and began drawing grey lightning bolts that traveled down from the helmet to the jaw lined of the helmet. She then proceeded to paint a jagged stripe down the top of the helmet. She looked up after she was done and replied, "Well, about those feelings, I think it's a little early to judge the situation. Because there really is no situation yet." She grabbed her BDU and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Segraves asked the blonde. She hung up her BDU in the "squad closet" (a large locker meant for the squad's gear like armor, small weapons, etc.) and motioned for him to do the same. Segraves walked over, hung his BDU up, and followed Halverson to the Gym on the _Swift Justice. _

About twenty minutes later, Segraves was in the round kickboxing ring in the gymnasium. He was going toe to toe with a Marine lance corporal. The other man made a jab with his right hand. Segraves blocked it away and delivered a strong punch to the man's upper ribcage. The bigger man backed off, holding his side. Segraves was bouncing around the man slowly. The other marine charged at him and threw him against the fence which made up the walls of the ring. Segraves was pinned against the fence. He started delivering sharp jabs to the man's kidneys and the side of his head. The other man released Segraves and backed off, all the while giving Segraves a stare of hatred. Segraves clapped his hand s together and smiled at the other male who was a good six inches taller. It was rare for a lightweight to face off against a heavy weight platoon champion. The other man lunged forward with his right hand, but was deflected my Segraves. But as Segraves deflected the one hand, another came and connected with the side of his head. Segraves fell back, dazed. Immediately the other man stepped over him and started to wail on the smaller ODST. Segraves took the punishment and expertly grabbed his left ankle and flipped it out from under the Lance Corporal. The other man hit the mat as Segraves backed off. Segraves looked as the man stood. The ODST spit the blood out of his mouth. While he did that, he momentarily looked away. Seeing his opportunity, the large man charged at Segraves. Segraves looked back as the man came toward him and just stood still. When the bigger man was in striking distance, Segraves threw a hard punch to the man's jaw. The man staggered back, rattled by the hit. Segraves then grabbed the man's right shoulder, pulled it down, jumped up, and kneed him square in the chest. Segraves landed lightly on his feet, while his opponent landed hard on his back. The referee declared Eric the winner by knock out.

Segraves looked out of the fence to see Halverson grabbing credit chips out of the Marines in the other man's platoons's hands. Segraves left the ring, not even looking back at the man on the mat, picked up a towel, and wiped the sweat and blood off of him. He slipped into a shirt and walked over to Halverson. "Good fight," she began, "for a moment, after seeing that guy, I almost bet against you." Eric gave her a sharp look, "Thanks," he replied. Eric then left her and proceeded to lift some light weights and hit the showers.

When he came out of the showers, he walked out of the gym, where he ran into the Captain Smith. Automatically, he snapped to a salute. The Captain returned it and continued on into the gym. Segraves, then bored, walked to his bunk, cleaned up, and walked to the Cryobay. There he was forced to take another shower and strip down. As he walked to a cryogenic tube, he looked to his left to see Halverson. She looked over at him, brushed her hair out of her eyes, and looked down. "Whoa… This is awkward..." Segraves looked down at himself, naked, and looked back at Halverson, who was also unclothed. "Yeah… this is _REALLY_ awkward." Halverson shrugged, "I guess now I can't argue that you are a guy, anymore…" She started to climb into her cryotube and Segraves hopped into his. His last thoughts before he went into a forced sleep was, "Wow, that was really weird. I hope things can be normal when we all get planetside."

**July 17, 2552**

**03:00 Hours, Sigma Octanus IV Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72nd Company**

**Squad 849**

**Location: UNSC _Swift Justice_**

**In orbit around Sigma Octanus IV**

**Pelican Launch Bay**

**Delivery Boys**

Segraves hefted a crate of supplies bound for Sigma Octanus IV into the back of an olive green pelican. He was followed by Lance Corporal Brunkst, who was also carrying a crate of supplies. Once all of the members had their crates inside the aircraft, they all got into their BDU's and grabbed some light weapons for the trip. They had been warned about a large mass that was moving in slipspace toward Sigma Octanus IV, but had been reassured that it was probably an asteroid, which would just pass harmlessly by. Nevertheless, Colonel Roberts told them to grab some weapons and get used to the armor.

Before they departed the _Swift Justice_, the squad met in the hangar bay for a last minute meeting. Lieutenant Peterson stepped up infront of the group and pulled out a touchpad. He tapped it once and brought up a map, which he expanded into a three dimensional hologram. The map showed several roads cut through a forest. The roads led to a structure that looked like a UNSC compound. The structure itself had no surrounding forests, but a huge grassy clearing that stretched for about two miles in all directions. The Lieutenant began the last minute briefing, "This building is a UNSC research and command outpost on the far side of the planet. Our task is to deliver these supplies to this location. The supplies are essential to research having to do with Covenant technology. We will be dropped off about thirty miles from the compound. We will be supplied with two Warthogs, one a transport, the other a normal LRV. Then we will drop off the stuff, grab lunch, drive back, be picked up by a pelican and brought back here. A simple first mission for you greenhorns." Lieutenant Peterson smiled as he put the pad away.

Brunkst raised his hand. Peterson nodded at him. The Lance Corporal began, "Sir, why can't the pelicans drop us off at the compound? It would sure save time." The Lieutenant stood there, acknowledging the question. He answered after a moment, "The pelicans will drop us off away from the compound because the captain of the ship has to halfway to Cote De Azure soon after we are dropped off. He will be taking the same pelican as us." Brunkst nodded and shut his mouth.

The group walked away to the pelicans, acknowledging each other's personalized armor. They stood outside of the dropship as they saluted Captain Smith as he got into the seating of the craft. The hatches on the pelican closed. The hangar bay door opened up, letting the vacuum of space suck out the remaining air from the sealed compartment of the ship. Once the area was depressurized, the green air/spacecraft lifted off and headed with another like it toward the surface of the planet. Both crafts had warthogs attached to the underside of them.

The team descended through the atmosphere slowly. The dark inside of the crafts lit up as the onboard lights were activated. The team started talking as the lights flickered on. The older team members started looking at the new guys BDUs. Segraves was tapped on the shoulder by the captain. "Nice piece of art you have there, son," the captain said to the corporal. Segraves thanked him as Lance Corporal Brunkst started to inspect his BDU. He commented on how well he had everything fastened down.

About twenty minutes into the descent the pilot called to the captain from the front, "Sir, you're gonna want to see this." Captain Smith walked up to the front as a group of Covenant battle ships could be seen jumping from slipspace into realspace above the planet. The Captain spoke to the pilot of the craft, as he pointed at squad 849, "Get them onto the ground and get me back to my ship!" He looked back at the ODSTs and ordered them, "Get ready for battle ODSTs!"

Segraves heart skipped a beat as he had watched the ships vaporize into being outside of the atmosphere. He hurriedly slapped the clip onto the side of him M7S and charged the bolt. Next to him, Halverson and Broward did the same. Across from him, Brunkst, Peterson, and Roberts did the same with their assortment of Battle Rifles and Assault Rifles.

The pelicans sped toward the surface of the planet. They were forced to veer a little off course because a group of Covenant Seraphs fighters sped by and pursued the dropships for a minute or two. They wound up about twenty miles out of position. The green crafts hovered upright above the grassy road paved through the light forest leading to the compound. The pelicans released the warthogs about ten feet off the ground. The vehicles bounced on their suspensions as the hit the turf. Immediately the squad jumped out onto the ground and headed to the 'hogs. They heard Captain Smith leave his parting message, "Soldiers, get that gear to the facility. Stay safe. Godspeed gentlemen." The team saluted him from the ground as he looked down at them from the back of the pelican. The older man saluted back as the dropship went skyward.

Segraves looked up at the disappearing ship. He immediately headed to the Warthog with the chain gun. Colonel Roberts started to get into the driver's seat, until Segraves approached him. "Sir, can I drive?" began Segraves. Roberts stopped in the middle of stepping in. He turned to face Segraves. He began to speak, but was cut off by Corporal Halverson. "Sir, he is an excellent driver," she stated as she stepped into the gunner's position in the back, "He can out-drive anyone in the Corps. He has taken out an entire five man squad of elites using only a warthog before. I would know, I was riding shotgun when he did it." Roberts looked back to Segraves, "Is this all true?" Segraves nodded. Roberts stepped aside as Segraves hopped into the driver's seat. The colonel called shotgun and hopped into the side seat. Segraves threw the 'hog into reverse and backed up next to the transport warthog. That group had Lieutenant Peterson driving and Brunkst sitting shotgun. Broward was sitting in the back, holding onto the crate of supplies.

Both drivers gunned the vehicles forward. Dirt sprayed from the back tires of the 'hogs as the sped to their intended destination. Segraves was in the front of the pack. They were about fifty miles from the UNSC bunker that was their destination. They would probably reach the place in less than an hour.

Less than ten minutes into the trip a loud whirring could be heard from over the trees of the forest. Soon a pack of banshees came soaring over the tree tops to release their volleys of plasma toward the convoy. The blue energy bolts scorched the earth where they hit. Segraves veered to the right as a green explosion blasted to the left of the 'hog. "Brandy, take them down," Segraves shouted to her from the front, "I can't outdrive them forever!"

Brandy Halverson swiveled the turret around and opened fire upon the lead banshee. The first rounds grazed it as it jinked right, but they connected with the small wings and cockpit of the purple, alien craft to the left of the lead banshee. The craft exploded into blue flame and hit the path behind the convoy. Segraves looked into the rearview mirror to see the carnage. When he looked up, there was a sharp turn ahead of the vehicle. Instinctively, he gunned the accelerator, threw the emergency brake on, and drifted around the curve. By doing this, he opened up an opportunity for Corporal Halverson to take down two more of the outer banshees. Colonel Roberts leaned out of the side to open fire with his assault rifle. Along with the bullets from the other warthog, two more banshees fell, leaving two remaining crafts. Corporal Halverson took down the one of the remaining banshees with a hail of antiaircraft rounds. The storm of bullets was so intense; the lead banshee performed a barrel roll to escape the flood of metal. When she directed the fire on to the leader, he pulled into a backflip and boosted to be directly above the Hog. He flew up at a near vertical angle and back down toward Segraves's warthog. "Oh crap." Corporal Halverson said, because he was above her angle of fire, "Eric, do something, I don't have a shot!" Segraves looked up, went to the left of the road, and slammed the brake pedal downward. Mounds of dirt built up in front of the tires of the stopping vehicle. The banshee overshot the warthog. Segraves looked up as Halverson expertly placed seven rounds into the rear of the cockpit. The mangled rear half of the pilot fell out, trailing indigo blood as it plummeted much like the vacant banshee. When the banshee hit the ground, it blew up into flames.

The rest of the trip through the forest was uninterrupted; that is until they reached the plain surrounding the compound. When they sped out of the forest, they were met with a scary sight. They saw fifteen covenant dropships flying over the north side of the forest toward the compound. Overhead, a big purple shape flew overhead, firing large plasma bolts at the convoy. Segraves drifted around them, but the other 'hog had less ease. They were hit with a few of the bolts, which melted off their front bumber. "Holy crap! What the hell is that thing?" Broward asked over the comm. channel. Colonel Roberts looked up, "That is a Phantom. It's a heavier replacement for the Covenant Spirit craft," he said with a concerned voice, "watch out for those cannons; they will melt battle armor." About a mile ahead, the craft released a large contingent of Covenant troops. Still Segraves barreled towards them. At the last second, he hit the e-brake and slid sideways into the entire group of enemies. "Damn," exclaimed Colonel Roberts as he shot a burst from his assault rifle into a downed enemy, "she was right when she said you were a good driver!"

"Thank You, Sir." Segraves replied as he sped for the compound. He looked back to make sure the other warthog was there. Sure enough, the scorched transport was following them. As they got closer to the compound, the dropships had begun deploying enemy tanks and soldiers. When they rolled up to the grey bunker-like structure, the front doors opened and a heavily armed group of soldiers came out of the opening. They were wielding battle rifles and rocket launchers. The group crept to the warthogs, guns at the ready. The ODSTs in the 'hogs hopped out and immediately started unloading the crate of unknown contents; they took it inside the front doors without saying a word. They were on a mission, which had just changed from just being delivery boys. They were going to deliver something else to the Covenant. The Battle for UNSC Compound 395-A had just begun.


	6. Chapter 6 Battle for UNSC Compound 395A

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft. **

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**July 17, 2552**

**04:38 Hours, Sigma Octanus IV Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72nd Company**

**Squad 849**

**Location: UNSC Compound 395-A**

**North Wing**

**Northern Observation Deck**

**Battle of UNSC Compound 395-A**

Segraves stood on the Northern Observation Deck of the large, fortified building that marked the above-ground portion of UNSC Compound 395-A as the sun rose above the treetops to the east. The facility was a testing ground for experimental weapons and technology. ONI (Office of Navy Intelligence) had a big presence here. Next to Segraves, stood his squadmates. Colonel Roberts was looking through a pair of binoculars as Dropships lowered Covenant mortar tanks, known as wraiths, onto the bare plain. Alien soldiers poured out of the dropships and moved into formations. On the horizon, without magnification, Segraves counted twenty five wraiths, ten plasma turrets, around thirty ghosts, and numerous Banshees moving above the treetops behind the wraiths. He looked down to his right and noticed a pair of marines. One of them was looking through a spotter's scope and the other was looking through the scope of a sniper rifle. While he was looking down, the voice of the Marine Non-combat officer in charge of the base came over through his helmet. "Boys and girls wake up. Today we wake to the sound of the enemy knocking on our door. He wants to gain entrance to our home. He wants take our lives. But. He was not expecting the UNSC Marine Corps to open up the door, ready to punch him in the face. Marines, today we face an enemy who is both unrelenting and unmerciful, but you know what: So are we!" the voice exclaimed; the voice then finished with a yell, "Marines, Give Them Hell!"

Immediately around Segraves, People were lifting their arms and weapons. They roared and cheered with uplifted spirits. Even the rookie sniper at his feet raised his hand and yelled. More troops rushed to the top of the one story building. Most were armed with Battle Rifles or Rocket Launchers. Other Marines started setting up large, stand up missile launchers. He was tapped on the shoulder by Lance Corporal Brunkst. He told him to follow the team down. He obliged.

As they headed across the grey roof of the building, a large rumbling started to shake the roof slightly. Before they reached the large ramp down inside, Segraves witnessed three Scorpion Tanks roll onto the roof. He turned to watch them line up along the north side of the roof. The team headed down the ramp, now that it was vacant. When they reached the bottom, a large metal plate slid over the top of the ramp, sealing the roof. They hurriedly walked the hallways to the north side of the wall. They could not see through the cement wall, but could see on the various screens that covered the wall the Covenant battle formations.

The Covenant now had thirty wraiths, and even more banshees patrolling above the troops. The Covenant soldiers were aligned in two formations that resembled the ancient Greek phalanxes which Segraves had been shown in high school. There were grunts, short, squatty aliens who breathed methane through tanks on their back, lining the front. They made up most of the formations. Behind the grunts were what looked like jackals which were skinny, ugly vulture-faced aliens. They had their energy shields on. The aliens spread out behind them and throughout the entire formations were the elites, who were thought to be the leaders of the Covenant. This had never been confirmed, but was suspected, because they always led the Covenant ground assaults. These aliens all stood in neat lines as they waited for the signal to attack.

"There's so many of them," remarked Corporal Halverson, "how are we gonna know when to attack." As if to punctuate that sentence, a loud boom could be heard, reverberating from the rooftop. On the screen, an explosion in the front of the lines of Covenants threw bodies and weapons backward into the middle formation. Colonel Roberts put his hand on Halverson's shoulder as the Covenant opened fire with the wraiths, "Now the battle begins." The Banshees circling the formations grouped into V formations and headed for the compound. Because of seeing this, a lump formed in Segraves's throat.

Over the Comm. Channel, the voice of the Marine officer returned, "Everybody open fire once they are in range!" Large booms could be heard from the tanks' cannons. Explosions from the shells marred the neat formations of the Covenant. Almost immediately, the plasma bombs from the Wraiths hit the ground just in front of the compound. Several stray bombs hit the edge of the roof, killing several Marines.

One of these bombs hit above the where the Team was standing. The structure shook from the force of the impact. The Scorpions returned fire, taking out two of the Wraiths. Ghosts started pouring out from around the Covenant who were on foot. The light magenta hovercrafts raced toward the compound. They fired upon the roof top with their plasma cannons. A good number of them were destroyed from the combined fire of rockets, tank shells, rifle bullets, and a couple well placed hand grenades. Right after they started taking fire, they split away from the compound and headed back.

After the ghosts came the Banshees, who came in waves and would strafe the top of the structure with plasma and fuel rod bombs. Human losses were high at first from these strafes, but when the tanks got involved, along with the missile launchers, numerous banshees fell. A Marine called for reinforcements on the roof, frantically. Another volley of plasma bombs came streaking down upon the front of the building. The Cement on the outside started to heat up and melt.

The ground troops were still coming en mass. Some were cut down by sniper and tank rounds. This could be seen from inside the building by Squad 849, who was watching it on the monitor in front of them. "Sir, shouldn't we be out there fighting with the rest of the Marines?" asked Lance Corporal Brunkst, as another volley of mortars came. Segraves winced as the bombs connected with the structure again. Colonel Roberts turned to face Brunkst; he lifted a finger to point at the screen as he spoke, "Our job is to make sure none of them make it into this compound if a breach occurs. Hopefully the walls never breach." The team turned to look at the screen once more. The ghosts had returned and once again started pelting the Marines above with plasma. One of the ghosts in the lead exploded violently as a Marine scored a lucky shot on the craft's cylindrical powerplant. The tanks rolled closer to the edge of the roof and started firing down on the aliens with both their cannons and machine guns. The explosions dug large craters into the ground and sprayed dirt into the air. By this time the foot soldiers had almost reached the compound. The formation stopped about twenty yards from the walls. When the group stopped, the Jackals took to the front lines to form a barrier of shields. The Marines on the roof relentlessly bombarded them with rifle bullets, but achieved minimal effect. Behind the Jackals, the aliens started firing on the troops. Finally someone suggested over the Comm. to use hand grenades. At once the marines started to throw grenades behind the jackals' feet. The fragmentation grenades exploded violently, spraying mangled parts of jackals and grunts everywhere. Once the shield bearers were out of the way, the Marines made quick work of the grunts behind the dead jackals. After about twenty minutes of massacre, the Covenant seemed to back off. The main force (right formation) retreated as they backpedaled toward the wraiths in the far back. As they retreated, the Banshees returned to fire upon the humans. Once they were beaten back, the mortar tanks fired again.

Segraves was getting nervous. The humans had taken a large amount of casualties in just the first two hours of fighting. Above, the Scorpions started to fire back at the Wraiths, but other than that, all that happened was the Marines picked up the bodies of their comrades. The mortars struck again the side of the building. The cement had been severely weakened by the boiling hot plasma that continued to rain down.

Five minutes into the shelling, Segraves looked over to his left. There was a Marine holding an assault rifle looking into one of the screens. He walked back and stared at the screen in front of him for a moment. When he couldn't look any longer, he turned around and paced back and forth. "_This suspense is killing me!" _he thought. He looked back up at the Marine for a second. The walls shook again from the blast outside. He looked over at the Marine again. Right when the two acknowledged each other and made eye contact (as well of eye contact you can make when one of the two has a polarized helmet), the wall he was next to exploded with blue radiation. Lieutenant Peterson ran toward the breach. "We have a breach on the North Wall! I report, we have a breach on the North Wall!" he yelled as he ran. The rest of the team followed him to the breach.

On the rooftop above them, a marine in a tank sighted the wraith that had made the hole. He aimed carefully, taking into account elevation, wind, and distance. He pulled the trigger that was grasped in his right steering stick. The Scorpion's cannon boomed, sending it's payload toward the Wraith. The searing hot HE-DP round flew across the battlefield and collided with the entry hatch on top of the wraith. The Elite piloting it was impaled by the round penetrating the mortar tank's armor. But he did not have time to feel it, because the round exploded into the powerplant of the vehicle. The Wraith imploded with a blue cloud of plasma.

Back inside, the team looked through the wide hole blasted into the wall. They ducked down as another mortar hit the roof above them. The body of a marine flipped over the roof and landed in front of the breach. Colonel Roberts requested a medic immediately. Segraves looked up. He saw the Marine sniper from before crawl up to the edge and shout down to them, "I'll cover you if you go and get her!" The sniper sat up into a kneeling position and brought his rifle to bear. "Segraves go!" said Roberts as he looked down the sights of his assault rifle. He made the "Advance" hand signal (pointing forward with two fingers) in the direction of the body.

Segraves put one hand on the wall and jumped over the newly formed parapet. He landed on the soft, undisturbed grass on the other side. He drew his suppressed submachine gun. He walked, low to the ground, toward the body. As he neared the face down body, one of the arms moved in an attempt to either role it over or get back up. Seeing this, he picked up his pace to a sprint. He dropped down to one knee, when he neared the body, and rolled the female Marine over. When he had her on her back, she coughed up a mouthful of dirt to her left and looked up at him. Segraves was met with the attractive angular face that had some Hispanic qualities. "I'm gonna get you back inside. Trust me; you are going to be fine," he reassured the Marine. He bent down, grabbed the upper left shoulder pad of her armor and began to carry her back on his shoulders. She grunted with pain as he hefted her up. "Okay, let's go." she said through her teeth as Segraves took a step forward. He nodded his head and started walking. When he was seven yards from the hole in the wall, a purple-white streak of energy sliced through the air near his head and he dropped to his knees. In one fluid motion he set her down, rolled to his right, drew his weapon and pointed it in the direction of the beam. Another beam came streaking next to the right side of his head. A wave of heat passed by as the beam dissipated. A loud crack rang out as the sniper took out the alien sniper. He got behind the marine again and this time started dragging her backwards, keeping an eye on the still battlefield. More beams came toward him and the woman, but thankfully they barely missed. In return, more cracks rang as the sniper returned fire. He reached the wall and lifted her over. He looked up at the sniper who stood up, saluted him, and said, "I told you that I would cover you. I've got your ba—." The sniper was cut off when a purple beam shot through his head. The body fell down and rolled off the roof. The body landed a few feet from Segraves. He picked up the dead marine's rifle and brought the corpse back inside the hole.

Segraves set the body on the smooth concrete floor of the corridor where his team was. He looked at the face of the man. It was a contorted look of surprise that was only marred even further than the perfectly cauterized hole straight through the head. Segraves crossed himself (even though he wasn't a Catholic) and closed the man's eyelids. Eric looked the right to see the medics attending to the female Marine he had just saved. They were putting a cast on her left arm. When she sat up to have them put the cast on, he noticed minute red blisters going down the back of her neck. They had probably formed from the intense heat of the plasma explosion that had flung her off the roof. He looked down at his feet to see the sniper rifle. He checked the clip on the rifle, reinserted it back into the receiver and stripped the man of any ammunition he had. It was disrespectful to the body, but it needed to be done.

Segraves ran back to the hole as a particle beam passed dangerously close to Lieutenant Peterson's head. The other man ducked down. Segraves went to the opening, lifted the rifle to his shoulder and peered through the scope. He looked in the direction of the shot's origin to see a skinny jackal holding a particle beam rifle. He lined up the tiny ring in the center of the scope's display with the creature's forehead. He gently squeezed the trigger. _CRACK!_ The rifle kicked against Segraves's shoulder. The jackal hit the ground, headless. It was the only fitting end the thing deserved in Segraves's opinion. Another beam shot past his head. He quickly turned, lined up his shot, and pulled the trigger again. _CRACK!_ He scanned the area for any more snipers and found none. He ejected the magazine from the receiver, slid a fresh one in, and chambered the first round. He looked for a moment at the rifle and noticed it was the newest version of the M99 series of sniper rifles. This one featured iron sights and an arrow head shaped muzzle.

"What do you see?" asked Jason Broward, who was now crouching next to him. Segraves peered, through the rifle's scope, at the rear of the Covenant's only formation. (The formations had joined as one after the losses from the first attack.) He saw the wraiths, some of the functioning ghosts, and several elites conversing. It was obvious that they were talking, because the four mandibles that formed their mouth were opening and closing rapidly and in no particular rhythm. Of the seven elites, two were white (SpecOps), four were red (Majors), and one was sporting gold armor and an energy sword. He wondered what this meant, so he asked the squad Covenant expert. "Lieutenant Peterson, Sir, what does gold armor and an energy sword signify on an elite?" He removed his look from the scope of the rifle and looked over to the higher ranked soldier. The lieutenant turned his head, "It means that the elite is what we call a Zealot. It is the highest rank that an elite can obtain, as far as we know. They usually control ships and other such titles. Why do you ask?" Segraves glanced back into the scope, and returned his gaze to the lieutenant. "Well, I was wondering how many shots it would take to break its shield." The lieutenant thought for a moment and answered, "Well, it would probably take three shots to take down the shield and one sniper round to penetrate the armor." He opened up the bi-pod on the rifle, set it on the destroyed concrete wall, and stared into the scope as he lined up his shot. "That's a good thing, because I'm staring at a Zealot right now." He placed the small circle that was the aiming reticle onto the creature's head. He mentally calculated how the wind, range and gravity would affect the bullet's trajectory. He squeezed the trigger, not to the point where it would fire, but almost. "Good bye, squid-face," he whispered to himself as he squeezed the trigger the entire way. _CRACK!_ The bullet landed right on the head of the alien. Though the bullet glanced off the shields of zealot (and ricocheted to kill one of the SpecOps elites who did not have his shields on), the force of the hit stunned the thing. He squeezed the trigger two more times. The second round hit the shields but glanced off; the third bullet struck the shield, glanced off, but knocked it out. He lined up the last shot and pulled the trigger. The 14.5 milimeter armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding-sabot round flew on a nearly straight path, even though it traveled well over a mile. It passed through the head of an unfortunate grunt who decided to jump as high as it could and headed for the zealot, undisturbed. In less than three seconds from the first shot, the zealot fell to the ground, missing the top half of its head.

Segraves grinned to himself as he discarded the spent magazine and slapped a new one into place. He chambered the round and looked through the scope to where the elites had been conversing. One of the red, Major elites was looking down at the body of the fallen leader. He was cut down by a 14.5 millimeter bullet which passed through his skull like a knife through butter. The remaining white elite activated his active camouflage and disappeared from view. He fired upon the three remaining Majors, but only succeeded in killing two of them. Merely by coincidence, the one invisible elite was killed by a shot which glanced off the living Major's shield, ricocheted off a wraith, and tumbled to hit him in the upper chest. The final major came out from the cover he was hiding behind. The thing had picked up a jackal's energy shield. He gave up on shooting him, because the rounds would only bounce off the shield.

The Major assumed command of the field of battle. He ordered the wraiths to begin the shelling of the compound immediately. He ordered the troops to prepare to charge the structure again. The wraiths moved into firing position again and resumed the bombardment.

**July 17, 2552**

**16:38 Sigma Octanus IV Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72nd Company**

**Squad 849**

**Location: UNSC Compound 395-A**

**North wall**

**Breach in the North Wall**

**The Second Assault**

Jason Broward noticed the shift in the enemy troops' movements. He acted accordingly, requesting reinforcements at the breach. Broward looked over at Corporal Halverson and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, let's go to the armory and get some heavier weapons, because this M7 won't do much damage against these shielded aliens." She nodded and requested the Colonel for permission to retrieve more effective weapons. When the permission was granted, the two headed off to the armory.

Jason ran down the hallways, in front of Halverson. They reached the armory, which fortunately was nearby. When they walked in, he looked at the rows of weaponry. There were shotguns, SMGs, Assault rifles, Battle Rifles, Sniper rifles, pistols, rocket launchers, and other weapons. There was one object in the far corner of the huge arsenal that caught his eye. The thing had a shoulder rest similar to the rocket launcher, but looked nothing like it. It was angular, and had what looked like three components: two green expanding parts surrounding a metal grey tube that made up the middle. Jason thought it was a laser designator that could be used to direct air support. He picked it up and hefted it over his shoulder. He picked up a battle rifle along with the laser weapon. He also picked up several demolition charges. He waited for Brandy, who was trying to decide between a M90 shotgun or a battle rifle. She ultimately decided that it was better to pick the shotgun. The Jason grinned as they ran back to the breached wall.

Meanwhile, Eric Segraves waited for his friends had returned. More reinforcements had arrived to the breach, but it probably would not be enough to hold them back from the compound. Most of the Marines were still concentrated on the roof. So far, there were fourteen more soldiers at the breach. All of them were armed with assault rifles. But they must have been newer, because they were longer than the MA-5B assault rifle and they held a smaller amount of larger rounds. He stood there looking at them for a moment. The marines were all young, probably fresh out of training. This would be a day that would change the rest of their lives. Segraves looked out of the hole again as the enemy formation started advancing. They weren't running, but they were walking at a fast pace. He glanced upwards and saw another Phantom come out from the cloud cover.

The thing rapidly descended. It came to a hover about twelve feet off the ground. Out of the back of the ship, two massive, blue and orange shapes hit the ground. Over the Comm. Channel he heard a marine shout, "What the hell are those things?" A loud boom resonated from the roof. The phantom fell from the sky on top of the things. The phantom exploded as it hit the ground. Segraves hoped that it would be the last they ever saw of those.

Segraves took a look to his left to see two ODSTs running up the corridor to the breached wall. One of them had a grey skull, with a Mohawk, which appeared to be screaming on her shoulder plate. The other ODST, who was taller by about two inches, had the depiction of a ninja's head which was on fire on his shoulders. These were his best friends, and his closest allies. They had gone through his entire school career with him. They had attended Boot Camp on Reach with him. They were now ODSTs with him. They had never given up on him, and he had never given up on them. He was sure that they wouldn't let them down now.

Even as the event that could have spelled both his and their doom was nigh, they still did their handshakes and greeted each other. "Dang, if we die now," Segraves began, "I couldn't have picked better friends to die with." Broward nodded at the statement. "Same here," he said. Halverson nodded too and said, "Same, but I haven't killed enough Covies to die just yet. How bout we give them the fight for _their_ lives?" Segraves grinned under his helmet. He checked his rifle; he had twenty rounds in extra magazines. He still had his M7S and his pistol. On the inside he agreed with Halverson: He wasn't about to go down without a fight.

He rushed to the hole, went prone on the rubble from the explosion, opened the bipod on his rifle, took sight and aimed at the line of advancing infantry. He lined up the sights on the head of an elite and pulled the trigger. The elite was dead before it hit the dirt. All around him he heard the sounds of human weaponry firing. Lines of Covenant infantry were falling down, but it wasn't enough. He continued firing until he had to reload. He ejected the empty mag, slid another into place, and chambered the bullet. He sighted a grunt and fired. The bullet passed through multiple grunts, leaving a line of bodies in its wake. To his right, Jason had brought out an odd looking contraption which resembled a laser marker and a rocket launcher combined. Segraves looked up as Jason pulled the trigger slowly. A thin red laser emitted from the center tube. Jason placed this on the chest of a rushing elite. Segraves noticed light beginning to pool at the muzzle of the center tube. Suddenly a massive red beam flew from the weapon. He jerked his head to the left and witnessed a line of death be carved all the way through the Covenant ranks. He heard Jason next to him, "Holy crap… that's really, really cool. I want more!"

"That's what she said." whispered Segraves under his breath as he shot another grunt. He heard Halverson laugh on his left. Finally he heard the tanks up above starting to fire. Explosions rang out through the air as Covenant went flying. Broward fired the weapon again. More covies died. He unloaded his clip and reloaded. "Oh, Christ! We have phantoms coming in from the south," a marine shouted over the Comm. Channel. This raised Segraves's heart rate a little. He started firing faster, hoping that the Covenant were not going to enter the building from the south.

He noticed he was starting to run low on sniper rounds. To conserve ammunition, he swung the weapon around onto his back. He reached to his hip to grab his pistol. He brought it out and started to fire. _Chink! Chink! Chink! Chink!_ The suppressed weapon fire four rounds and downed four grunts. _Crack!_ He looked to his right and sat the marine he had saved, using a sniper rifle with her right arm. She had her left arm in a sling, so she was using the bipod to stand it up on the rubble. She was firing and reloading with the same arm. "I figured they would have you downstairs in the Med. Bay," he said. She laughed (as Jason let loose with the Laser), "Nah, I convinced them that I can still shoot with one arm." She shot again, downing several covenant with the one shot. Segraves started shooting again, "Well, anyway, it's good to have you with us." He emptied the clip and reloaded. The Covenant were losing numbers dramatically, but they were in range to fire. He estimated that they had lost a third of the formation already.

He unloaded another clip and ejected it. "Argh! SOB," he cursed loudly. Brandy looked over, alarmed, "What, are you hit?" Segraves looked down just to make sure he wasn't. When he was sure that he wasn't, he replied, "No, I just remembered that I forgot to brush my teeth today." He reloaded the pistol and resumed firing. "Of all the times you could have chosen to say that," started Brandy Halverson, as she ducked from an incoming plasma bolt, "why did you have to say it now?" He looked back at her and shrugged, "What, I like to maintain my hygiene." She just stared at him with a face of disbelief, that could be seen through the unpolarized helmet, "What the hell is wrong with you? We could probably die right now and all you can think of is your teeth?" He shrugged again. "Could we all just talk about this at another time? There is a massive Covenant army coming toward us, after all," said Jason as he fired the laser again.

Segraves noticed that the fire from the roof had stopped. It wasn't a good sign. "Colonel, the support from the roof has stopped." he reported. He looked over to see Colonel Roberts raise his hand to his helmet. The older soldier looked over to him, "They're pinned down by those wraiths. They can't get close enough to the edge to fire. They also have phantoms closing in from the south. Segraves continued firing, but suddenly stopped. "Sir, does this facility have a warthog garage?" Roberts depolarized his visor to look at him. "What are you planning?" Segraves ducked under a plasma bolt. "Sir, we can get a beat on those wraiths if we can get behind them," he began, noticing marines run up the corridor, carrying machine gun turrets, "If we have any demolition charges, a fast warthog, a good gunner, and a good driver, then we can take out those wraiths. As far as I can see, we have all that here. All I need is you permission." Roberts pondered it for a moment, "Do you think it will work?" Segraves nodded. "Then get your asses out there and get the job done," Roberts ordered loudly. Eric tapped both Jason and Brandy on the shoulder and nodded his head in the direction where they needed to be. The two soldiers stepped aside as turrets were being set up where they once were. They headed down the corridor, going to the Garage.

When he reached the Warthog Garage, he looked around the vast hangar bay that had been converted into an auto workshop. There were several disassembled 'hogs lying on the floor of the concrete garage. He was trying to pick which of the twenty functioning warthogs to hop into, but it was decided for him by Brandy. She jumped onto the back of a warthog with a gauss cannon. "This is… amazing," she exclaimed as she studied the weapon. He laughed as he stepped into the driver's seat. He pushed the ignition button and heard the vehicle growl as it started. Segraves drove up to the door of the garage and waited for Jason to open it up. When Jason did, he hopped into the car, and raised the laser up into the vehicle with him.

Segraves turned to Jason, depolarized his visor, and asked him, "You do have some demo charges, right?" Jason depolarized his visor, cocked his eyebrow, and replied, "Eric, since when do I not have explosives of some kind?" Segraves nodded his head and floored the accelerator. The warthog lurched out of the door.

Segraves was gripping the wheel with his left hand, with the other, he was reloading his pistol. "Eric, how the hell do you do that?" asked Brandy. He shrugged and continued to drive. When they started to get near to the massive wave of aliens that was moving against the UNSC compound, several ghosts broke off from the main force to pursue them. Immediately Brandy engaged the hovercrafts with the gauss gun. _PHLANK! PHLANK! PHLANK! _Three ghosts went down, their drivers effectively destroyed. Segraves pulled the E-Brake, hit the accelerator, and drifted around a turret which was blocking the path to the wraiths. As he drifted, Jason leaned out and fired the laser weapon. The remaining ghosts were disabled along with the turret as Jason swept the blade of light to the left. Segraves drove around the formation, until a plasma bomb landed less than ten yards from the Warthog. The vehicle rocked on its suspension from the force of the blast. He kept the pressure on the accelerator as the 'hog was at its top speed. As the first wraith drew near, its auto-turrets aimed themselves toward the warthog. "Jason, get that demo-charge ready!" Segraves yelled as he drove straight at the tank. Next to him, Jason hefted a primed charge. Segraves yanked on the e-brake, spun the vehicle around, and started driving in reverse. As they sped by, going backwards, Jason threw the explosive onto the back of the wraith. Luckily, it landed perfectly on the wraith.

As Segraves sped toward the second wraith, Jason prepped the second explosive. Instead of going to the tank's right, Segraves went around the tank to the left. Jason threw the explosive onto the tank's entry hatch as the warthog whipped by. As they neared a group of three wraiths, Brandy opened up with the Gauss, taking out two of them. The third one was gutted by Jason's laser. Jason then fired again, taking out two more wraiths in the distance with one shot. "Man, I got to get myself one of these things!" he exclaimed as the weapon cooled down.

In less than ten minutes, all of the wraiths were either "tagged" with explosives or they were destroyed by the gauss gun on the warthog. On the way back Jason threw the remaining explosives as deep into the enemy's formation which was at a bottleneck at the breach. Segraves drove them back into the garage and they ran to the breach. When they got to the breach, Colonel Roberts looked up, "What the hell are you doing, they are still getting fire from those wraiths up above" Jason pulled out the detonator and pushed the trigger. In the distance, ten explosions were heard simultaneously. "What wraiths?" Segraves looked over to where the turrets were slaughtering hundreds of Covenant. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. _This was only the first invasion force. If they continue to send soldiers, we might be overwhelmed. Not just this compound, but the entire planet._ He heard and felt the impact of the final mortar that was in the air. Almost instantaneously, the two remaining Scoprion Tanks began firing at the columns of infantry. He watched as bodies flew from explosions and bullets. It was satisfying, in a sick way, but it made him feel confident. He gripped his SMG tighter. The invasion force on the ground outside of the compound was being reduced steadily.

This did not last for long. At 17:19 hours, the phantoms arrived above the roof. Segraves and his team rushed to aide in the fight. He ran down the corridors, slid around a corner and looked up at the ramp which led to the roof. The large metal plate which covered it was closed. Lieutenant Peterson hit the button to open the roof, but nothing happened. Suddenly, a massive dent was placed into the door, a deafening boom followed. Segraves and the entire team ducked down out of involuntary action. Peterson hit the button again and the roof began to move. When it was about halfway open, a large metal object nearly hit the team as it fell from the opening. Segraves jumped out of the way, barely. He looked down at the object; he recognized it as the turret of a Scorpion Tank. The turret was burned and warped. He then turned his attention to the opening, where plasma bolts could be seen flying past the opening. He ran with his team out of the opening, guns drawn. He first saw a blue armored elite standing with its plasma rifle aimed at Roberts. He pulled the trigger. The shield on the beast flared for a moment and finally dissipated, leaving a bloody mass which fell to the ground. Several grunts primed plasma grenades, but were killed before they could throw them. He ejected the magazine, slapped a new one on, and charged the bolt. He looked to his left and saw an elite standing over a marine who was crawling away from him. The alien had a white blade held in his hand that crackled with electricity. He sprinted at the thing, lowered his shoulder and rammed the thing in the back. The thing stumbled and fell off the roof, where it was chewed up by the machine guns below. A green bolt of electricity buzzed past his face. He spun around, looking for an origin, and saw a jackal with its shield up. The skinny, vulture-faced creature fired its plasma pistol again at him. He dove out of the way. He circled the creature, firing in short bursts at the thing. He saw Brandy creeping up on the thing, so he kept it up. He watched as she got right behind the thing, pumped the empty shell out of the shotgun, and pulled the trigger as the thing turned to face her. The gore from the blast sprayed all the way over to Jason who was unloading on a pack of grunts with his SMG. Segraves ran over to him and joined in. when the grunts were down, they turned their attention to the jackals who were attempting to take potshots at the team and the remaining marines on the roof with their plasma pistols. Jason rolled a grenade past the shields of the things. When it exploded, the bodies were flung forward, lifeless. The last two elites were easy to take down with the combined firepower of the team. Once they were done, they pulled the survivors inside of the compound. At the bottom of the ramp, a team of medical staff and armed marines carried of their wounded or dead comrades.

Right as the last bodies were dropped off, another phantom arrived. The side doors opened as the chin turret searched for enemies. Grunts manned the side turrets as more covenant jumped off. Once the soldiers were all off, the phantom flew off. The squad headed back down the ramp, quickly. Segraves reloaded his silenced SMG as quietly as he could. All around him his team did the same. He followed behind as Roberts took point as they headed up the ramp. Roberts had threaded a suppressor/silencer onto the barrel of his assault rifle. Segraves poked his head out above the top of the ramp. Up on top were several ape-like aliens and some grunts. The apes held red plasma rifles and some fierce looking weapons that had two fixed blades attached to the muzzle. There were six of these aliens and all of them stood at least a head taller than him, but none of them were facing him. He retracted his head and signaled to the team that there were twelve hostiles consisting of six grunts and six unidentified enemies. "What are they?" asked Brandy. Colonel Roberts answered her question, "Those are Brutes. Those are the first aliens that attacked Harvest. They nodded and drew their weapons. Segraves crept out of the door, in a crouching position. He was followed by the rest of his team. They all targeted one of the larger hostiles first. He slowly walked up behind one of the tall aliens and aimed his SMG at the back of its head. He looked to his right. In a line, he saw his team lined up directly behind each of the beasts. He watched Roberts and waited for the signal. Just before the signal was given, a grunt noticed the extra pair of feet behind Jason's creature. Segraves watched as the squat alien pointed and said something in a language that he didn't know. Immediately, he yanked on the trigger of the SMG. The rounds tore through the thing's skull, killing it immediately. On his right a shotgun, two silenced assault rifles, and a suppressed SMG fired.

Jason didn't get a chance to fire, because the massive thing turned around, grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up. The alien brandished the twin bladed gun, brought it above its head and prepared to swing it down on Jason. Segraves raised his M7S. A shotgun went off, knocking the weapon from the creature's hand. He then fired, aiming for the thing's huge midsection. He unloaded the clip into the thing. He wasn't about to lose one of his best friends to an ape. Suddenly he felt a sharp puncturing feeling in his side. He looked down to see a pinkish purple glasslike shard sticking in his left side. The shard had lodged itself in one of the gaps in the armor near the ribcage. As he looked down, the thing detonated while it was inside of him. He screamed from pain and slumped backward from the wound. As he fell, he dropped his SMG. When he landed, he looked up at the alien who fired it.

It was a wide-eyed grunt who looked more scared than fierce who had shot him. The thing's gun was trembling in its hand. The gun was similar in shape to a plasma rifle, but it had purple spines sticking out of the front of it. Segraves and the alien locked eyes for a moment, they stared at each other for what seemed an eternity. That eternity lasted until the alien's head was suddenly missing from the force of a shotgun blast. Sent back to reality, he drew his pistol from his hip and shot at all he could from the ground. Three grunts were killed by him shortly. When he was done, he looked down at his side, which was throbbing with the most intense pain he had ever felt. Crimson blood was oozing from the wound, which was ragged and torn. He thought he could see part of a rib, but he never passed Anatomy and Physiology in high school. All he could say was, "Ow."

Colonel Roberts rushed to his side along with Brandy and Charlie Brunkst. He depolarized his visor and looked at them. Roberts rolled him over onto his side and examined the wound. He watched as Roberts turned to Brandy and told her to get a medic and a stretcher. He saw her nod, look at him for a second, and run off. "Son you need a medic," said Colonel Roberts. Segraves gritted his teeth as a wave of pain passed over him. He turned to Roberts and asked, "How is Corporal Broward?" Roberts looked over his shoulder at what Segraves thought to be Jason. When Roberts turned back he said, "He's gonna be fine, but you need to get patched up now." Eric did his best attempt to joke it off, "I'll be fine, but all I need is some biofoam. But I have to ask, would now be a good time to request a vacation?" Another wave of pain washed over him. He groaned loudly. He looked over at the wound, which was still bleeding.

Just then Brandy arrived, with two medics, who had a mobile stretcher with them. Segraves complacently stayed still as they gently lifted him onto the stretcher. They grabbed his SMG and placed it next to him on the stretcher. The two medics wheeled him down the ramp to the Medical Bay. There he was transferred over to a table and stripped of his upper armor. One of the medics took off his helmet and laid it on the table next to him. A doctor walked up to him and started to examine the wound. "Hey Doc, am I gonna live?" He waited for the doctor's reaction. The man turned and smiled at him. The older man replied, "Well, you are a lucky one, the needle shard that hit you was stopped by your fifth and sixth ribs. When it detonated, most of the force was sent out the sides and the back. If it had hit directly between the two, your lungs and heart would be in really bad shape. You'll live, but you'll get a nice scar." As he finished, the doors opened and Segraves saw the same Hispanic marine he had saved come in and sit on a table to his right. She was holding her left shoulder tightly. Segraves replied as he looked at her, "I hear that the ladies like men with scars, but I've never tested the theory." She smiled at the comment. The doctor leaned to the medical staff and told them to fill the wound with biofoam until the others who were wounded worse were treated. One of the medics went to a table on the far wall and picked up a can of Biofoam. They put a plastic plate with a small hole in the middle over the wound. The one with the can put the nozzle into the hole and sprayed the anesthetic foam into the injury. The biofoam felt like ants biting at every square millimeter of the wound. "Argh! I don't know what is worse, me getting shot or me getting healed," he complained as the foam was injected and expanded in the wounded area. The medics then taped up the hole and told him to stay there until he was cleared to go. He watched as the medics went directly over to the female marine on his right. She let go of the wound to reveal a small puncture that went deeply into her front deltoid muscle (front outside of shoulder). The puncture was bleeding fairly badly, but to his surprise, she was gritting her way through the pain. He watched as they did a very similar procedure as they did with him on her wound. When they were done with her, the medics moved to others who were far worse than those two. Segraves leaned up, with slight discomfort, and looked at her and spoke, "You know, I never even learned your name." She looked up and smiled; she replied in a smooth, calming voice, "You know, I never learned yours either. My name's Mariana Wade." He nodded and replied, "Mine's Eric Segraves. What did you get hit with," he asked as he pointed to her arm. She looked down, "This," she started as she pointed at the sling her arm was in, "was from me fracturing my ulna when I was thrown off the roof; the shoulder wound was from a Carbine (Covenant Carbine). What did they get you with?" Eric lifted his arm and looked at the taped patch on his side, "I got caught with a Needler." She grimaced at the vision of the weapon.

He changed the subject, "So, where are you from?" He watched her smile at the object of discussion. "I was born on Reach," she started, "but I was raised on Earth." He nodded, "Me too. I was born on Earth and grew up there; more specifically, I was born in Tampa and raised there."

She laughed, "Really, Me too! That's cool." She flashed a big smile his way. He talked with her for a few minutes about home and found out that they had grown up in the same neighborhood. He noted the similarities she had with him when it came to growing up.

He was in the middle of telling her about his high school when a scream came from his helmet. Immediately, he put the top half of the BDU on and slipped the helmet over his head. The first thing he heard was "They have broken through the roof top and are inside of the building!" He instantly turned to her and said, "Are you still able to fight?" She nodded and he handed her his pistol. He walked over to the table next to him, where his helmet had been and picked up his sniper rifle and his M7S. He walked to the door with her, but was stopped by a doctor.

The female doctor asked, "Are you two cleared to leave?" When he told her no, she got into his face and said, "Then sit down, you are in no condition to fight." He would not back down, but got into her face and replied bluntly, "Lady, if we don't go out that door and fight, then you can have a fun time in whatever afterlife you believe in. If we don't fight, the everyone in here will die." He then walked past her and out the door.

In the hallway, red emergency lights were flashing, and non-combat people were running in the opposite direction as Segraves and Wade. Segraves could not run because of the mass of people running against him. He was constantly being bumped into. He edged his way to the end of the hallway. His helmet's HUD displayed the IFF signals of the passing officers. When he reached the end of the corridor, he touched a button inside his helmet with his chin. His Comm. System was activated. Once the crowd had thinned around him, he started walking briskly; and when the crowd had moved past him, he ran with Wade down the bright corridors. He gripped his SMG tightly as he ran. He rounded a corner, his boots lightly clicking against the floor. He peered around the next corner he encountered.

He saw a group of grunts, armed with needlers, waddling down the hallway. They did not even have their guns at the ready. He grinned, crudely, as he primed a grenade and rolled it down the hall. He ducked back around the corner as the thing detonated. Fragments flew past him and hit the wall across from him. He rolled around the corner, gun up and ready, and looked for enemies. When he saw none, he motioned for Wade to come out. He ran down the halls with her until he heard gunfire.

He heard the familiar rattle of an MA-5B assault rifle and the sound of a plasma rifle firing. He heard the crack of an energy shield dissipating and a howl that wasn't human. He turned around the corner to see an elite lying back down in a pool of dark blue blood that was slowly expanding. A lone marine was reloading his assault rifle. He ran past the marine.

As more gunfire became audible, he ran faster to arrive to aide his fellow humans. He saw plasma bolts fly by up ahead. He sprinted to the T intersection to find a small group of marines fending off jackals and grunts. He ran up to the marines, as one was hit with plasma in the arm. Segraves ran up, primed a plasma grenade that he had lifted off the fallen Elite, and threw it at a grunt that was behind the jackals. The grenade stuck to the other grenades on the thing's belt. With one second to react, he shouted to the other marines to hit the dirt. He fell to the ground as all three grenades detonated, making a white hot explosion that blasted over him and the marines. When the heat had dispersed, the marines ran ahead to battle more enemies. He followed them with Wade at his side.

The marines split off at the next T intersection. Segraves and Wade walked briskly up the right hallway. They reached the breach in the North wall. There were marines standing guard over the hole in the concrete exterior of the building. They straightened up as Segraves arrived. He inquired if there were any hostiles in the area. When they reported no, he told Wade to stay with them and guard the breach. He ran, by himself toward the ramp that led to the roof. There were many spent shell casings on the corridor that led to the ramp. He walked up to the ramp, but didn't go up it. He turned his back to the opening on the roof and walked eastward toward gunfire.

About halfway down the hallway, he stopped. Something wasn't right. He heard a slight sound of the movement of air. He turned halfway around and looked down. He saw a massive blue-grey metal boot on the floor behind him. He dove to the right as fast as he could, accidentally dropping his M7S in the proccess. The very spot he had been a moment ago was crushed by a massive metal shield. The concrete floor splintered and cracked as the shield smashed into it. He backed up frantically down the hallway as he saw two massive aliens standing ominously in front of him. One of the aliens had a humongous metal shield in contact with the ground that he had been standing on a second before. The aliens looked like they were armored with blue metal plates that covered most of their bodies. They were armed a cannon that looked like it was attached to their right arms. The other arms had an enormous shield that must have weighed at least a quarter of a ton. The only vulnerable looking parts on the things were the orange patches of flesh that were exposed.

Slowly, Segraves reached to the sniper rifle strapped to his back. He grabbed the grip, pulled it forward and pulled the trigger without aiming properly. The bullet hit the midsection of the alien on his left. It left a large hole through the orange flesh of the creature. The alien on his right lifted its right arm. Green plasma started to pool at the end of the weapon. This plasma was released in a torrent of green energy. Segraves jumped to the side to avoid the blast. The rifle's barrel was caught in the flow of energy and was molten slag when the intense heat wave passed. As he jerked away from the blast, he felt part of the BioFoam rip from the side of the wound. He reached to his hip for his pistol, but it wasn't there. He had forgotten that he had loaned it to Private First Class Wade.

The only weapon he had left was his knife. The reached up to his left forearm and pulled the blade out from the sheath located on the underside of his arm. He glanced down as it came out with a _shink_. The blade was eight inches long and made of a non reflective black Titanium-Ceramic alloy, which he had been informed made up a part of the chest plates on the SPARTANs. He flipped the blade so that it was facing down in his hand. He prepared to charge the alien when it started to fire its arm cannon. He dove forward, barely missing the stream of plasma, rolled when he hit the ground, and came up slicing the blade at the midsection of the thing. The blade, which had been honed to a point only five atoms wide, cut through the orange tentacle like flesh like butter. As the blade slid across the flesh and came out, it brought a spray of neon orange blood that splattered the walls and Segraves. He was forced to duck under the massive shield as the creature swung it to the left, taking out a good portion of the wall on its left. As he ducked down, he swung the blade at the exposed flesh on the knees of the alien. The blade only grazed the thing, because it stepped back to avoid it. The blade glanced off the armor, leaving Segraves stumbling forward. The thing lifted the shield to strike him while he was vulnerable, but bullets started pinging off the back of the armor.

The alien spun around to see where the fire was coming from. Segraves looked around the legs, which were as wide as a young tree, and saw Lance Corporal Brunkst firing on the thing. The spikes on the alien's back rose up as it charged its weapon. It lifted its shield up to defend itself. Out of pure impulse, Segraves ran at the thing and sliced at one of the exposed hip joints. "Duck, Charlie," he screamed as the weapon of the alien's arm fired. The creature went down on one knee. When it fell, it dragged the energy flow in the opposite direction that Charlie ducked. Segraves cut at the other hip, which brought it to the floor in a spurt of orange blood. He finished the thing off by jumping over the spines sticking out of the things back and stabbing the full blade of the knife into one of the eye holes in the plate that rested on the thing's head. He ripped the blade out, with a loud _SHLUNK_ as blood sprayed and gushed from the eye hole. He stood up, dripping orange blood, and looked at Brunkst. The other man just stood there looking at him. Segraves nodded and they walked off to meet up back with the rest of the team. On the walk back, he picked up his SMG and looked up at the time. The clock in his HUD read 18:23 hours.

He walked with Brunkst down the hallways of the compound. He tapped him on the shoulder and asked, "Hey Charlie, do you mind if we take a short detour?" Brunkst shook his head and they turned to the left. They walked to the breach, where he found PFC Wade standing, holding his pistol. The woman looked at the massive amount of blood on his BDU with a face of mild disgust. "What is that stuff?" she asked him. He looked down at his suit and back up at her. "This is all is from a very big alien," he said as he pointed at the blood that was still dripping from the BDU, "I took it down with only my knife." She nodded as she handed him his pistol back. He nodded as he walked off with Charlie Brunkst to reunite with the squad.

When they reached the rest of the squad, they all turned to face him. He walked up to Colonel Roberts and saluted. Roberts returned the salute. Lieutenant Peterson said the first word, "How did you get out of the Med. Bay? You shouldn't be able to fight in the condition you're in." Segraves looked down at the taped up wound and replied, as he grinned, "Well, Sir, I wasn't going to let you guys have all the fun." the lieutenant took of his helmet and smiled as he shook his hand. Segraves glanced over at Brandy and saw that she had a nice mix of the blood from different covenant species on her chest. Jason had a slightly smaller mix of blood on his BDU, but it was obvious that they had also engaged in close quarters combat. "What is that orange crap on your suit?" asked Jason. Segraves sighed and told him that it had came from a new species of aliens. "You should have seen this guy," exclaimed Brunkst, "this guy took on aliens that were easily two times his size, with a knife, and won!" Brunkst spread his arms out to symbolize how large the things were. The rest of the team congratulated Eric on his victory.

He went to patrol and wipe up the last remaining Covenant in the compound with the squad. This took until 20:34 to finish. They all reveled in the thought that they had defeated an entire Covenant battle force in less than twelve hours. The Battle for Compound 395-A was declared officially over at 20:40 Hours. Segraves returned to the Med. Bay for the rest of the night. He was patched up. The doctors said that he would be fully healed in less than a week. They restricted him from all combat for a week, while his flesh reformed and healed back together. He learned the next day, after the last day of the Battle of Sigma Octanus, that not only had he been awarded two medals, along with the rest of his team, but PFC Wade's platoon would be transferred over to the _Swift Justice_. He was ecstatic, besides the hole in his side. He was returned to his ship, which he noticed had been damaged during the space battle, with his team. The squad had been grounded, because they had been called to help repair the breached wall in the North wall the day after the battle. Segraves later found out that they had participated one of the bloodiest battles next to the attack on Côte d' Azur.

As he boarded the _Swift Justice_, he was instructed not to go into CryoStorage. He met with the Captain of the ship, before they departed, and shook his hand. He sat down on his bunk, looking at the ceiling. He felt the bump of transitioning into slipspace. He knew that they were heading to Reach for an award ceremony for the crew of the ship, and then they would head to Earth. He reveled in the fact that he would be going home.


	7. Chapter 7 Debriefing

**It's been a while, sorry for the update delay, been busy with other stories and summer. ;) ENJOY!**

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie. **

**August 29, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**18:00 Hours, Reach Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper**

**72****nd**** Company**

**Squad 849**

**Location: Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) CASTLE Base**

**Floor 2, Review Area 5.**

**Sigma Octanus IV Debriefing**

**Debriefing**

Segraves felt nervousness creep into his chest as he sat with his squad. They were just about to undergo the mission debriefing in front of the entire High Command Council, except for Lord Admiral Hood. The drab, white walled room was completely silent. The only sound was one of the marines at the door shifting his weight. The two marines in olive green armor were guarding the door to the conference chamber ahead. Segraves turned his head as a Navy Lieutenant came walking in the doors. "You can come in." he said. Segraves stood up in unison with the team and followed Colonel Roberts into the doorway.

He still had yet to figure out how the Colonel was able to still fight in combat when he was at a fairly high rank in the Corps. He had heard rumors that Roberts and Lieutenant Peterson had refused rank advancement so they could still fight on the ground. They had refused so many times that Marine brass had finally let them take the advancements and still fight on ground. And here they were, still leading soldiers into battle, or in this case a debriefing in front of the top members of the Navy.

Segraves stepped into the darkened auditorium-like room. The main light in the room focused on him and the squad. His eyes eventually adjusted to the darkened seats ahead. He saw the faces of some of the most prominent men in the UNSC. In front of the main projector was a holotank. Projected in a dim red was a cloaked figure: an AI. More than likely it was one of the ONI AIs running the CASTLE base. He looked down at his dress uniform, just to make sure it was in order.

A magnified voice came toward him and the squad. "Soldiers. At attention." He snapped into the stiffest salute he could muster. There was a slight twinge in his side, where the wound from the needler was almost fully healed. The nerves were still recovering, according to one of the doctors on the _Swift Justice_. He heard the rest of the squad snap to attention in unison. The same voice announced their presence, "This is Marine Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Squad 849, from the 72nd Company. They were part of the Marines who defended UNSC Compound 395-A, which is located on Sigma Octanus IV." An older man spoke, "At ease soldiers." Segraves lowered his arm and shoulders.

On the main holoprojector, six flat views popped into place. They were the videos from their helmet cameras. "Let us tackle several things you people saw during the attack on the compound." One view from Corporal Halverson's camera; it showed her point of view from behind the chain gun. It stopped as she shot down the lead banshee who was attacking the small convoy before the battle. The video slowly progressed forward until it showed the shredded pair of hoofed legs fall from the cockpit of the banshee. The display zoomed in onto the pair of legs. "This is the helmet mounted camera of Corporal Brandy Halverson. Corporal, what do you think of the displayed image?" Halverson stepped forward and replied after clearing her throat. "Sir, I did not dwell on what the alien was. I focused on delivering the supplies to the compound safely." She stepped back into the line the team had formed, facing the audience.

"Very well." the video continued until they reached the compound. The video minimized and the next was brought up as the others disappeared. Segraves recognized it as his own. It played through until they were standing up on the roof of the compound. They called up Colonel Roberts to address why he thought the Covenant didn't attack immediately. They seemed satisfied when Roberts said that they must have been grouping for the larger attack. They went forward to the part when the wall first was breached. It went forward until the part where the squid faced aliens were first seen. "Now we call up Corporal Eric Segraves. Corporal, how would you identify these aliens you fired upon with your rifle?" Eric took a second to think for the right way to describe the aliens. He felt a line of sweat run down his back. He looked up at the crowd as the video started playing again and spoke with a slight hesitancy, "Sir, they were over two meters tall, they had elongated heads with what appeared to be four jaws. They had hunched backs and armor. I believe that they are the rumored Covenant Elites. They seemed to be commanding the other soldier, which also suggests that assumption. They obviously possessed an energy shield of some sort. It was different than that of a jackal's, because it wasn't visible until it was struck. It could also be indicated that the color of their armor could symbolize rank or position. I surmised this when the gold armored elite, which will come into view in five seconds, seemed to lead the other covenants." The video showed the Zealot talk to the other elites. "This could also be a Zealot or a field commander class elite." He said as he pointed at the gold elite. The camera shot continued to show him kill the elites with the sniper rifle. He watched as some of the ONI staff nodded and talked amongst themselves. He stepped back into line. The video paused and skipped to the point when him, Brandy, and Jason jumped into the warthog and attacked the wraiths. Another voice spoke from the audience, "Corporals, do you know that your actions endangered both yourselves and could have cost the outcome of the battle?" Segraves nodded along with Jason and Brandy. The video paused again and skipped to the point where he was fighting against the massive, armored pair of aliens. The ONI people started murmuring again as the video showed him taking on the aliens with his knife. The voice came again from the audience saying, "This is a new species of covenant now named the Hunter class. They were first identified by SPARTAN Blue Team leader Sierra 117 in the attack and destruction of Côte d' Azur. Hunters are, as far as we can determine, a colony of eels. They are armed with what we have examined to be a fuel rod gun, which is a covenant heavy ground weapon. They should be either avoided or taken down with explosives. Corporal, we do not suggest a hand to hand engagement like the one shown here." He nodded as a member or two of the crowd laughed softly. "Soldiers, thank you. You are dismissed." He straightened up again and saluted. He walked out in a single file line with his team. As he walked through the door, he saw a hulking green figure walking toward the door. He looked over at it and saw the thing; it stood over two and a half meters tall and was armored. The thing had a helmet that had a gold face plate. It was a SPARTAN. Roberts scowled in disgust as the cyborg walked by. Segraves knew about the hatred the ODST held toward the SPARTANS. Somewhere in the past, a Spartan had killed several ODSTs who were sent to bully him as a test. Deep down, he also disliked the Spartans, but he also wouldn't let it get in the way if he encountered one. He headed out of the CASTLE base with the rest of the squad. They were due for another slipspace journey to Earth, where they would be stationed in orbit for a short period. Later that night, though, they were needed back on the other side of the planet for a small awards ceremony for the ODSTs who had survived Sigma Octanus IV. They went outside of the gate and drove a warthog over to a UH-144 Falcon that flew them over to the other side of the planet.

Inside the belly of the sleek, dual prop helicopter, he pulled out a small chip with a holoprojector and speakers from his pocket. He powered up the little player and selected a song. A small symphony played through the speakers and a male singer began singing. "Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away! If you could use some exotic booze there's a bar in far Bombay; come on, let's fly away, let's fly, let's fly away!" Brunkst looked over with a contorted face and asked, "What the hell is this?" Segraves grinned and looked at the small, blue holographic display that told about the old song playing. "This song is from one of my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfathers (there could have been more greats) who collected old music. This was back when they used Compact Discs and Digital Video Discs to play video and audio and store memory." Next to Brunkst, Jason mouthed a "Wow." "This," Segraves continued, "is Frank Sinatra's Come Fly Away. He was a popular singer in the 1950s and 1960s." Peterson started nodding his head to the melodic beat of the music. The song continued for about two more minutes, then the player randomly selected another song. They listened to the music for five more songs until Segraves powered it down and put it away. Roberts leaned forward a little and asked the younger squad members how they had felt about their first ONI debriefing. Brandy shrugged, Jason moved his hand in a wavering motion, and Segraves said, "I was pretty nervous, being in front of some of the most prominent people in the UNSC. But it wasn't anything to die over."

"Well, get used to it: being ODSTs, we go through debriefings like this all the time," said Peterson. He shifted in his seat as Jason began talking about taking a furlough on Reach's equatorial coast. "I'll chill on the beach with some scantily clothed women, a beer, and my comm so you jealous sods could talk to me while you're off at a base somewhere," he said. Segraves laughed and turned to face his best friend, "So you're saying that you'd rather be on a beach than off saving human civilization and discovering alien technologies, with your best friends?" Jason laughed too, "Well… I didn't think about that. Man, what would I do without a submachinegun in my hand and a pistol on my hip, eh? So, who says we get this awards ceremony done and get off of this planet for home?" Charlie turned to face him and said, "Hey, what if this is my home?" Eric laughed under his breath as the Falcon headed off.

**August 29, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**19:50 Hours, Reach Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72****nd**** Company**

**Squad 849**

**Location: Quezon City, Marine Headquarters**

**Ampitheater I**

**Awards and Accolades**

Once again, Segraves stood in line with a line with the rest of his team in front of a crowd high ranking individuals and fellow soldiers and several civilians who were "Special" enough to get in. He was seated after saluting the highest ranking naval officer on reach, Vice Admiral Whitcomb, and joining in on the marine anthem and the UNSC anthem. An ODST Major stepped in front of the crowd and up to the podium. He began his speech with a line from the book, _The Last of Days_, which was written in 2448 by Victoria Knox, a fellow ODST. He began speaking about the troubles that the ODSTs faced in day to day life and that they were the best of the best. He made statements about how the ODSTs could turn the tide of the war around. He said that they were the bravest soldiers in the UNSC. The Major continued, "Recently the UNSC had a major victory against the Covenant. We saved our colony planet Sigma Octanus IV, but barely. The narrow win was due to the daring and heart of soldiers and civilians alike. Tonight we will reward those who served above and beyond for their heroine and bravery. We will start with promotions and then move on to medals and awards." As he droned on, Segraves glanced around slowly at the rest of the ODSTs on the stage. They were all those who were stationed on Sigma Octanus IV during the battle. The entire 72nd, 105th, and 282nd companies were present, so that was a lot of names to got through for promotions and medals. He was sitting in the third row, behind another ODST squad stationed on the _Swift Justice_. The speaker went through the lists of promotions alphabetically so it took a while.

The speaker went on and Segraves lost focus and his attention drifted away until he heard he heard his name called. His head snapped forward to face the speaker and he stood up and walked down to the podium. There he saluted and shook the major's hand. While he stood there he found himself asking what was going on. This must have shown on his face, because the major leaned in a little closer and asked, "I take it this must be a little bit of a surprise _Sergeant_. Congratulations." The Major announced the promotion and which company Segraves belonged to. Segraves was handed a new brass insignia for his shoulder, which he stuck in his left pocket. He shook the major's hand again and saluted him again then headed back to his seat. When he sat down, he discreetly turned to Colonel Roberts and asked, "Sir, were you planning on telling me about this promotion?" Roberts smiled and said, "If I had told you, it would have ruined the surprise, Sergeant. Congratulations, you deserved it."

The Major continued onto the Medals and Awards section of the ceremony. He went through the minor awards and ribbons awarded to those who participated in the ground battles of the conflict. He then reached the Marine Corps second highest honor possible, the Marine Corps Medal. It was a bar with a ribbon hanging from it on which dangled a gold Marine Corps symbol. He called forward eight people from the crowd, three of them including Eric, Jason, and Brandy. The other five were from other companies but still had participated in the ground conflicts that had ravaged Sigma Octanus IV. Eric lined up with his friends and waited for them to be called forward. When they were called forward the Major had them stand off to his right and stand at attention.

They did and the major pinned the awards personally onto their dress uniforms. He shook their hands individually and described the events that took place that earned them the medal. He stated in detail the sweep they performed with the warthog against the enemy wraiths and also stated their actions were probably the most crucial piece in the victory of the compound battle. After he was done, the Major dismissed all the others except for Segraves.

He stood at attention as Vice Admiral Whitcomb took the podium for his part of the medal ceremony. He called forward even more soldiers to join Segraves on the stage. Soon he was surrounded by other ODSTs standing at attention. "As we all know, war is a terrible place and it is not without death and injury. Today we award those who were injured or killed in combat. I will personally hand out the Purple Heart Medal to these ODSTs who were not afraid to get hurt for the cause they fight for. He turned toward Segraves, who was standing closest to him. "You're first, son." He walked up to Segraves and handed him the Purple Heart. He shook his hand and saluted him. He continued onto the next ODST to his right and went through the rows of the ODSTs on the stage.

Segraves grasped the medal firmly in his hand. To him it had a certain warmth. He stood there holding it and finally saluted the Admiral for the final time and was dismissed with the rest of his squad. (There was a later ceremony for the Colonial Cross and Medal of Honor.) They boarded the _Swift Justice_ via Pelican and went to their chambers. While on board, just after undocking, Segraves walked to an observation deck and watched Reach grow smaller and smaller as they moved the _Swift Justice_ to a safe slipspace jump location. A familiar voice came walking up from behind him. "Beautiful from space isn't it?" The voice was smooth and sensual with a Hispanic accent. He turned to face Mariana. She walked up beside him and grasped his hand. The two had become more romantically involved since Sigma Octanus IV, to put it shortly. They turned to look out the 3'x6' window. "I will miss it, I've always liked Reach. But it will be a good homecoming. Speaking of which, how long is this trip?" Segraves shrugged, "Three weeks, maybe a little more. Why, any ideas come to mind?" She bit her lip, "A few do prick my imagination. You want to find out which ones?" He grinned and replied, "That sound's very tempting." He raised an eyebrow as he turned to her. She lead him out of the observation deck. As he exited, he took one last look at the planet. The image of the picturesque sphere would be forever engrained in his memory. But at the time, other things were on his mind.


	8. Chapter 8 A Time to Mourn

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft.**

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**October 20, 2552**

**15:48 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72nd Company**

**Squad 849**

**Location: UNSC Cruiser _Swift Justice_**

**In High Orbit over New Mombasa, Kenya**

**ODST Drop Pod Bay 4**

**A Time for Mourning… A Time for Revenge**

_Reach…Destroyed and billions of Human lives lost…Now they've reached Earth, My home planet…_thought Segraves as he strapped on his new armor that ONI had given to his squad when they deemed them test subjects for the experimental Special Operations Modifiable Battle Dress Uniform. It looked the same as the normal BDU, except that it was modular and could have different armor plates and modifications in order to suit the mission needs. He strapped on a larger, plasma resistant shoulder pauldron onto his right shoulder to better protect his side while he was sniping and fighting in close quarters. He put a knife sheath along his left ribs for faster drawing and strapped a Quick-Clip bandolier for his SRS 99D-S2 AM Sniper rifle across his chest. A day earlier, he had painted the new armor to match his old one. Several miles below them, a Covenant Carrier was stationary, dropping troops down onto New Mombasa and a huge force of over ninety ODSTs were tasked with taking it out in twelve minutes. He stood up, slid on his arm platings and gauntlets and bolted them into the pauldrons. He shrugged his shoulders to test the flexibility. It was a nice, snug fit that allowed maximum flexibility. He walked over to gun rack and pulled his rifle out, broke it down and slapped on some new parts to increase the rate of fire and put on a new OSPREY SOCOM scope. He looked up at the rest of the squad, which was doing similar activities in silence. He lifted the rifle up and looked down the scope. He messed around with the built in night vision, thermal vision, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging/Electromagnetic Imaging modes. When he was satisfied, he set down the rifle and picked up the new M7S that ONI had also given them it had been modified to utilize a wireless link to his helmet to perform a x2 zoom ability to get the full potential out of the accurate pistol. He synced the pistol via his gauntlet to his helmet, which was on the table next to his rifle. He put on his new helmet, which had a flip down visor, which reduced/increased incoming light except for his right eye for when he used the sniper rifle. He flipped the visor down and picked up the rifle again and tested it out. He smiled inside his helmet and walked over to his pod and put the rifle in its slot.

He took a step back from the pod and felt a light push on his right shoulder. He turned to see Jason standing in front of him. Jason reached forward and grabbed his chest piece by the sides and gave it a rough shove, but didn't let go. He nodded to Segraves and gave him the thumbs up. He turned Eric around and did the same to his shoulders. He gave the thumbs up and pointed to his chest piece. Eric returned the favor and gave the thumbs up. The two friends gave each other a handshake/hug and smacked the side of each other's helmets. He walked off as Jason placed his SMG into its slot. When he returned, he sat down in a folding chair in front of the holotable, which was being activated by Colonel Roberts. A hologram of a Covenant carrier ship near the space elevator of New Mombasa popped into view. Roberts nodded to him and walked off to his pod along with the rest of the squad, except Jason, who walked up to the table and pulled off his helmet. Eric studied his armor and noticed that all of his modifiable parts were meant for close quarters combat, except for the two extra grenade belts slung across his chest. He took off his own helmet and scratched his newly cut hair. They waited in silence for the team. When they arrived, all but Roberts took their seats and looked up at their commanding officer.

Roberts cleared his throat and spoke calmly, "Okay, you all know why we're here. There's a Covenant Carrier sitting stationary over New Mombasa and it's our job to take it out. We will be dropping in onto the tail end of the thing and go down approximately seven decks to disable the engines, so it can possibly be over run by our sister squads, who will take out, simultaneously the weapon systems and hopefully the bridge. We will land here (pointing to a spot on the top of the carrier) and move along the dorsal side to this point, where longsword fighters will open up a hole for us to enter. We will fight off any resistance we encounter and disable, by explosives or any means necessary the stern engines, thus rendering the ship cornered. Now that you know the basic plan, here are the loadouts that you should have followed, I will be using medium range weapons along with Peterson and his battle rifle. Brunkst, you will be using the same as I, an MA5C assault rifle with an attached suppressor. Broward, Halverson, you two will be our close range specialists, so take your pick. Sergeant, you will use your sniper rifle for long range work. If you don't already have this done, get your asses in gear, 'cause we're dropping in five!" With that, he shut down the table.

Five minutes later, Segraves was on the dorsal side of the _Swift Justice_ and activating the navigation systems on his drop pod. He thought in his mind that he could possibly never see his girl again, if the Covenant won the day. He hit another button on the screen and opened squad communications. Roberts patched through to his video monitor, "Sergeant, I want you to keep it together out there, I know she's down there, somewhere, but she'll make it; she's a Marine after all. You will also make it out alive, if you keep your helmet on straight. Segraves nodded as the link was shut down. The image from the Justice's observation deck flashed in his memory. _We will all remember Reach, _he though, _But the time for Mourning has passed… Now it's time for Revenge._

One minute into the freefall, the temperature in the pod reached one hundred five degrees Fahrenheit. They were aimed at the tail end of the ship and rapidly gaining speed. He looked to his left and saw that Peterson was in the pod to his left and Jason to his right, Brunkst was directly in front of him and Roberts and Brandy was below him. He could see flames wrapping around the bottom of his pod. Sweat trickled down his back as the inside of the pod got even hotter. Over the Comm. Channels he heard the other team leaders coordinating out landing zones and then someone said, "What's that coming off of the bow?" Another responded, "That looks like a... Oh, SHIT! They're jumping into slipspace inside the atmosphere. Everyone, divert your courses, I repeat, call off the attack! EMP!"

Eric turned and looked forward to see a blue light begin to emanate and spread out in and arc. "Colonel," he yelled, "we need to abort, now. Otherwise we'll all die." Roberts replied with, "Fuck, you're right! Everyone change your courses!" Segraves looked up again and pulled his steering handles as far right as possible, but the shockwave was coming too fast. He saw Peterson's pod get literally vaporized as the rest of the squad was thrown off to the side as if they were specks of dirt. He was thrown against the left side of his pod and his head smashed against a screen, shattering it into sparks. "OOOOH, SHIIT!" he yelled as his and Robert's pods slammed through a tall skyscraper and came to rest in another. He watched, helplessly as Charlie's pod shattered on impact and he was flung down five hundred stories to the streets below. He tried to release the hatch, but he couldn't reach up to pull down the handle. His arm fell back down onto his chest. Slowly his vision faded to black. His last thought rang through his head as if he were yelling it. _THIS IS NOT MY END! YOU WILL NOT TAKE ME! I STILL HAVE A JOB TO DO! AND I WILL DO IT! AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME!_


	9. Chapter 9 Counting Losses

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft.**

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**October 20, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**... **

…**_Checking Time_**

**19:35 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72nd Company**

**Squad 849**

**Location: …**

…

… **_Activating Emergency Location System…_**

… _**Rebooting Navigation Sector…**_

… _**Enabling Link With Nearby Artificial Intelligences…**_

…

… _**Connecting to SUPERIntendent AI…**_

…

… _**Connection Established…**_

… _**Location Incoming…**_

… _**Location Established.**_

**Location: New Mombasa, Kenya**

**Downtown, New Mombasa**

**Fledgling Financial Building, Downtown New Mombassa**

**Counting Losses**

The pain was excruciating as Eric reached up and pulled down on the release latch for the pod door. There was a hiss and the door shot off and bounced off of the not completely destroyed roof of the floor he was on. It landed with a large smash as it crushed the unfortunate desk it landed on. He pulled himself out of the pod, starting to regain his senses. He reached into the pod and pried his rifle from it's metal compartment. He checked to see if the sights were still working… they were still functioning, and that was a good thing. He slid its strap over his chest and placed the gun on his back.

He stood up fully and surveyed his surroundings. He was in what appeared to be a financial building that was in terrible shape. The wind caused by the altitude blew in through the blown out windows and flung loose pieces of debris around. There was a large hole in the floor about twenty meters to his right, which he walked over to. He looked down through the gap and saw a drop pod on the floor below him. He jumped down and walked up to the pod. He brought his hand up to his helmet and keyed the communicator. "Any UNSC Personnel in the immediate vicinity please respond. I am ODST Sergeant Eric Segraves, Service Number 72514639I. We have a HEV here that may be in lockdown, I will need assistance in opening it." He waited a moment and then came a ragged cough and a hoarse reply, "Sergeant, all you had to do was ask and I would have opened it." The voice suddenly brought all the recent events back to memory. The drop… the EMP… falling into the building… seeing Charlie fall to his death… (the last one made him shudder and almost fall down) The voice belonged to Colonel Roberts. Eric ran up to the door shot off and up through the hole in the roof. He unpolarized the visor as he ran up the opening.

Inside the pod was Roberts, pinned down by a piece of the pod that was crushed up against his arm. "I could always use a hand in getting out of here." Eric got on the top of the pod and put his hands under his armpits and lifted his commanding officer out of the pod. When he was out, Roberts pulled his assault rifle from the pod and returned to face Segraves. "We need to regroup with anyone left in the squad. Did you see where any of them landed?"

Eric shook his head. "Maybe if we broadcast on the UNSC E-band, we may find them." Roberts waved the suggestion off, "That wouldn't work, the E-band was already flooded by the time we landed. Let's try the squad band." He watched as Roberts put his hand up to his helmet and keyed the squad communication band. He heard static then Roberts requesting sit-reps from both Jason and Brandy. He repeated the hail, but there was no response. The two decided that they would try again once they were on the ground and out of the skyscraper.

*\\\\\*/*

"Ugh… Where am I?" Jason felt around in the dark and smashed his hand against something warm and metallic. He felt more at it and yanked it. He heard a pop… a hiss… and a bang. The pod he was in was flung upwards and backwards. Light flooded his vision and his eyes quickly adjusted. He grabbed his M7S and checked for his pistol. He felt its bulk on his hip. He also pulled the rocket launcher that was also stored in his pod out and strapped it onto his back. He stumbled as he hopped out of the pod and walked forward. He spotted a lit sign for a starewell and he started to descend.

Continuing onward in a somewhat daze, he went down, floor by floor, until the starewell was blocked by a large object. He tried to push it out of the way, but the thing wouldn't budge. Frustrated, he pounded his fist against the side of the thing. The force of it echoed across the object and down the starewell. He huffed loudly and stood, eyeing the metal barrier. A voice came out of the thing that made him jump. It was female and slightly muffled. "Will you stop standing there staring like a dumbass and help me out?"

The voice brought him back to his senses and he snapped into action. He slid himself, back to the ground, into the small two foot gap and pushed up on the door of the pod. The thing didn't move, no matter how much leverage he applied. He slid back out. And he got an idea that should work, in his mind. He unclipped a frag grenade from his belt and placed it in the gap between the pod and the floor of the stairwell. He slid up next to the thing and pointed at it, knowing the pod's occupant could see it. "Brandy," he began, "When this frag is set off, it should flip your pod, shoot it to the other side of the stairwell, or blow a hole in the floor, which should free you. At least I think it will… But let's first give it a try." As he pulled the pin, he could hear Brandy say, "You better not do that! Don't do it! Jaso—"

BANG!

Jason watched as a large hole was made in the floor, through which the pod fell. He heard banging and clanking of metal on metal as he walked up to the hole. He looked down to see Brandy's Pod rolling down the stairs, quite violently. It finally stopped at what he estimated to be three or four stories down. He jumped through the hole and walked slowly, laughing to himself until he saw that her pod was leaning against a wall, facing the correct way. He stepped back as the door shot off and hit just a few feet in front of him. Out of the pod came a very pissed off ODST. Jason kept walking forward and held out his hand as he depolarized his visor. "No hard feeling?"

Brandy depolarized her visor and took his hand… then threw him down the adjacent flight of stairs with a pronounced "Screw you, Jason" She walked down after him, and, seeing that he was laughing at her anger, sat on his chest and started to wail on his helmet with both fists. Jason brought up his arms in a fighting block and took the blows, and the entire time asking, "You done? How 'bout now? Come on! We have a job to do here. You done _now?_ Argh! Screw it!" He reversed her grip and pinned her on the floor of the landing and got her in a sleeper hold, but didn't tighten his grip. "Brandy, I will not hesitate to put you out, but right now I need you conscious. So will you stand down?"

He was answered with her breaking an arm free and hitting him again in the head. He sighed as he tightened the hold until she went limp. He sat by her and waited for her to wake up again.

When she did about ten minutes later, she found all her weaponry lying next to her and Jason sitting on a step about ten feet from her. She rolled over and said, "I hate you." He nodded in reply, walked over and helped her to her feet and handed her the SMG from her pod. She took it and strapped it to her chest and looked up at him. She then, after gathering the rest of her equipment, proceeded to tackle him through the door nearest them. They fell out of the door and into the blinding light of the outdoors. They rolled around the floor, trading punches until a commanding voice barked over their squad comms, "Squad stand down, now!" a pair of hands grabbed the ridges above both their visors and forced them apart. They looked up to see both Colonel Roberts and Sergeant Segraves standing over them. Roberts looked at both of them critically. "I've got enough to worry about without you two trying to kill each other. I don't care who started it, but grow up and pay attention. We are in a hairy situation now. Two squad members can be presumed dead or MIA and we are stuck in a skyscraper in the middle of an entire city controlled by Covenant. The main task at hand is to survive, and that will be hard enough without you two at each other's throats."

"Acknowledged," the both of them answered. Roberts turned to Segraves. He motioned for him to follow and the squad walked into the stair well and down the huge amount of floors left to go down. When they reached the second floor, some time later, Roberts put a fist up in the "Hold" signal. As he said this, the lights in the stairwell went out. He slowed his pace down the stairs drastically and threaded the silencer onto the muzzle of his rifle, which he brought up to his shoulder. "Visors on." He whispered into his mike. With that he touched the visor button on his helmet. He proceeded down the stairs at his snail's pace.

Segraves hit the visor button as he drew his pistol. The entire world around him took a new hue as everything around him was outlined and illuminated. His teammates were outlined in green and the scenery in gold. He mouthed a "Wow" inside his helmet as he proceeded down after his CO. As he descended, he could hear sounds of what sounded to be bird like cackling coming from below. He felt adrenaline come into his veins with a slight wave of shock. He knew the sound very well. It was that of Jackals, the shield bearers and snipers of the Covenant. A small drop down bar came into view on his visor as an unknown sound was heard. It was a low bass sound with voice like pronunciations. The bar read "Analyzing sound… Sound Recognized… Proceed With Caution… Covenant Elites Ahead!" Segraves announced the finding to his teammates and they flashed green acknowledgement lights. As they continued down, a huge figure came into view. The thing must have stood at nearly three meters tall and held a plasma rifle in hand. The figure blocked off the doorway that led to the ground floor. An explosion outside shook loose some dust from the ceiling. The dust settled about a quarter of an inch above the white armor that the thing was clad in. _Energy Shielding…_ he thought as his grip tightened on his pistol. The Elite motioned with it's left arm and in front of it bright, multicolor lights of Jackal shields sparked to life. The Jackals, or what of them they could see past the Elite's massive frame, spread out through the office spaces and moved outward, leaving the Elite alone. The thing touched something on its chest and the dust that had settled on the shield fell down through the air. "Jason, Halverson, get the legs," Roberts said. Before he had uttered the words, the Elite turned around and jumped back as it saw four humans in black armor. Before it could activate it's shield again, it was met with a bullet to the middle of it's head from Segraves and two shots to it's knees. The thing fell with a thud before their brass had even hit the floor. They filed through the door way, stepping over the body of the Elite, and into the dark offices.

The glow of the Jackal's shields threw off many distorted shadows as they went from cubicle to cubicle, plasma pistols in hand. As one neared them, Brandy said, quietly over the comms, "This one's mine." She drew her combat knife and crept, quiet as a cat, behind the thing. For a moment, she was practically breathing on the thing… that was until she leapt into the air and landed on the thing's back, while simultaneously stabbing the blade through its skull. It was so quick, that the Jackal didn't even let out a whimper. "Good kill," whispered Roberts. They continued onward, killing whatever Jackals were in their way, until they could see light ahead. The beauty of the light was marred by two elites in blue armor guarding the main entrance to the building. "Let's split up and flank em," advised Roberts, "Jason, you're with me. Eric, go with Brandy and take out the one on the right." Segraves keyed his acknowledgement signal with his chin and nodded to Brandy.

_PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! CHINKACHINKACHINKACHINKA!...Thud. Thud_

_PFFT! _Segraves put another round into the middle of the thing's skull, right between the four mandibles. He ejected the spent magazine from the pistol and slid a new one in. He looked over to where Roberts and Jason were finishing of the dead elite's comrade. Once they were done, they ran away as fast as possible. Segraves unslung the sniper rifle from his back when they reached the end of the block, which was about half a mile away. They stopped, adrenaline flowing through their veins and pounding in their ears. "Sir, where should we go from here?" Roberts nodded and was about to say something, but he was cut off by an explosion in the distance that was followed by gunfire. "I think we should start over there. Saddle up and check your ammo and water, because this fight has just begun."


	10. Chapter 10 City Streets

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft. **

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**October 20, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**22:24 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72nd Company**

**Squad 849**

**Location: New Mombasa, Kenya**

**Downtown New Mombassa **

**Moving up 68th Boulevard**

**City Streets**

The gunfire grew louder as the team approached 27th Street in downtown New Mombassa. The Moon was barely visible with both the skyscrapers overhead and the intense space combat that was still raging overhead. They rounded the corner to the right and sprinted down to the next intersection, at which they stopped to reassess what action needed to be done and establish contact with whatever UNSC forces were in the firefight that was ahead of them. "This is Colonel James Roberts from ODST Squad detachment 849, reaching out to any and all UNSC forces in current battle with the Covenant up ahead." He paused to stop, obviously to listen to whatever radio traffic was being directed to him. He said something with the nod of the head and turned to the rest of the team. "Ok, that was the platoon commander of the marines up ahead. They are pinned down by both brutes and jackals around the next corner. Sergeant, I want you to get to an elevated position with a good angle and take Jason as a spotter. If you take out the brute commander, then maybe we can flank them and the jackals and take out the bad guys. Move out!"

Segraves ran with his rifle in hand up to the next block intersection and went down a street to find a good position. He doubled back and ran past his team who was flanking around to meet up with the other marines he ran up two more blocks until Jason looked up the map and announced that they were near a building that was perpendicular to where the Brutes were last reported to be. They kicked in the front door, quite literally and found a grunt that was frozen in fear. Jason put a round through its skull as they ran past it. They reached the third floor balcony and looked down. Jason looked through his HUD's magnification and started calling out targets to the team. Segraves brought his rifle to bear and looked through the scope; he saw four brutes and seven jackals. There were corpses of grunts littering the street and a group of marines huddled behind a crashed warthog. He brought the target reticule over the head of a jackal who was attempting to flank the marines around the warthog. He gently squeezed the trigger until he heard the crack and felt the kick of the rifle against his shoulder. The jackal flipped sideways as the round passed through its skull and ricocheted off of the ground and up into the sky. Instinctively, he jerked his rifle to the brute closest to the jackal he shot. He pulled the trigger again and the brute slumped to the ground, spraying bone and brain onto the charred warthog. The brutes and jackals below were looking around for the source of the shot and the marines below took advantage of this confusion and opened fire on the now disadvantaged aliens. One of the jackals decided to make a run for it and ran for the corner where his team was supposed to approach from. The thing met a gruesome end that consisted of being clothes-lined with an arm wielding a knife. The jackal's head tumbled to the ground, draining purple blood. "Oops, that wasn't the intended effect," Segraves heard Brandy mutter over the comm. "Brute right!" Jason called as Segraves adjusted his fire. He fired and the brute fell. "Screw it, I'm joining in." Jason said as he pulled out his pistol and added his bullets to the fray. The jackals were the first fall, quickly mopped up by the marines, leaving two very pissed brutes. The marines threw their remaining grenades at the brutes. The larger of the brutes dove out of the way as the other one was engulfed in flame and shrapnel. It fell with a roar and a thud. The wrecked civilian car the larger car had dove behind exploded outwardly and slammed into a marine as the brute swung the biggest hammer Eric had ever seen. Roberts opened fire on it with his rifle from a distance but with no effect, due to the strong shield the thing had. Eric shifted his aim to the brute that had a huge headdress. "Sarge, I need those shields down now!" Brandy said as she sprinted at the beast with both combat blades in her hands. The chieftain raised the hammer over its head as Brandy ran at it. Eric pumped two rounds into the shield, knocking the head of the monstrosity twice. The shields flashed and popped out of existence on the second shot. The shots gave her the vital moment to drop to her knees and slide between its legs, cutting the tendons on the inside of its knees with her knives. The beast dropped to its knees with a crunch and dropped the hammer in its attempt to stand back up. Its attempt was foiled by Brandy jumping on its back and stabbing a knife into its back, behind a shoulder blade. It bellowed a response and tried to claw at its back and fell flat. Roberts strolled up and put half a clip from his rifle into its head as it was on the ground. He looked up at Brandy and said, "It's not polite to play with your food." She shrugged and pulled her knife out of the body with a wet _schlink. _

The door behind them across the street opened as Jason and Segraves walked out. Segraves approached them and nodded at Halverson, saying, "Good blade-work, Corporal." She nodded in return. Behind Roberts the marines were pushing the car moved by the brute off of their comrades. They helped their fellow soldiers up and the leader of the group approached the odsts. "Which one sent out the hail to us?" Roberts stepped forward, removing his helmet and shook the man's hand. "Colonel James Robert, seventy second division. It was a pleasure to assist, sergeant." The Sergeant pointed to Halverson who had a coagulating coat of red and purple blood on the arms of her armor, saying, "That helljumper is the best with a blade I've ever seen. I'd hate to see him in a bar fight." Brandy laughed as she removed her helmet. "Sir, I'll take that comment very highly. Thank you, sir." The surprised sergeant's jaw dropped and hung loose for several seconds. "Well… Ma'am, it's been an honor meeting you." He stuttered as he shook her hand. Roberts regained control of the situation by asking, "Sergeant, do you have any men too wounded?" The sergeant shook his head and replied, "No, Sir, they're a little dazed by the hit, but alright. I suggest you leave us to our duty and carry on; there'll be others who could use your assistance. Once again, thank you sir for the help." His team gathered and began strolling in the opposite direction of the ODSTs.

*\\\\\*/*

"Jason, get us a hard-line to the city's superintendent. Now, Trooper!" Jason fumbled with his tool kit as he tried to unhinge the phone on the sidewalk adjacent to a police office that was abandoned. A blue plasma bolt flashed past him as his screwdriver skipped over the screw he was aiming for. He glanced to his left as he saw another phantom drop more grunts and elite minors to the ground. He gave up his professional style of hacking a device and changed modes. He pocketed his tool kit and proceeded to point his submachine gun at the booth and pulled the trigger. His rounds chewed up the front of the phone. He stepped back and kicked the booth off its stand and began ripping cords. He connected the cords he needed to a small device that he pulled out of a pocket and tapped a few commands in. "Sir, it will take a minute to hook up to the mainframe, but the uplink I connected should get us inside in about forty seconds."

"Corporal, we don't have forty seconds," Roberts retorted. Jason turned and looked at where his team was giving suppressive fire. A phantom was lowering a wraith into position in the courtyard in front of them. As soon as the phantom gained altitude the wraith fired, its plasma mortar hanging in the air. Someone in the team screamed for them to run, he didn't know who, but he grabbed the device and ran, as the wires connected to it tore off. They sprinted for the next two blocks and stopped at what appeared to be a fast travel station. They looked around their surroundings and behind his back Segraves found another phone terminal. He turned to face it and he approached it alongside his friend. "Maybe I can do it properly this time," he said as the stepped up in front of it. Suddenly the screen on the terminal lit up and a computerized voice that was almost childish spoke from the speakers on the side of it, "Destruction of public property is a criminal offense!" The entire team jumped at the unexpected chastiser. Next to him, Segraves chuckled to himself and nudged Jason with his elbow. "That's a first; I guess the city doesn't like you, Jason." Jason hit him back and replied, "I'll show it who's boss." He stepped forward and pulled his tool kit out. As he leaned closer to unscrew the front panel the terminal began spitting coins out at him. "Unauthorized entry! Unauthorized entry! Unauthorized entry!" the computer repeated over and over. Jason stepped back, holding both his arms extended from his sides and shrugged, "Hey, I'm not gonna leave any permanent damage, I'm trying to get in contact with the city's Super Intendent." The screen went dark. Brandy laughed behind him, "Jason, I think you scared it off!" He turned and shook his head at her and leaned forward again and took out his tool kit. The phone suddenly wrung. He stepped back and looked at it with his head tilted to the side. He hit the speakerphone button and waited for someone to speak. No one spoke, but a drop down box appeared on his screen that said **Connecting With SUPERIntendent AI… City Map Downloaded…Location Mapped… Thank You For Coming to New Mombasa. **His visor switched to a bird's eye view of the city that mapped the buildings in blue and the streets in orange. He heard Colonel Roberts say, "Well this is fancy…" He flipped off his visor and saw Segraves put his hand on his shoulder and say, "Jason, you are the only man I know who can hack into an artificial intelligence with nothing but your voice." Jason just grinned behind the visor of the helmet.

*\\\\*/*

"Sergeant! Get off the dirt and give an assist here!"

Segraves fumbled to his feet and grabbed his rifle that had mercifully landed stock first in a planter a few feet from him. He shook his head as he ran to the barrier to where his teammates were huddled. They had lost the wraith a mile back, but the Covies seemed to have an endless supply of them to drop. The current wraith had spotted him go up the gravity lift of the Covenant floating sniper nest and had fired a very accurate shot that had left him a millisecond to jump the twenty feet to the ground. The landing had been rough, but aside from bruises, he hadn't broken anything. He took aim at the brute gunner of the tank and fired, splattering dark blood all over the cockpit of the wraith. "Jason, it's defenseless, take the thing out!" He watched as his friend climbed up onto the cockpit and dropped a grenade down the hatch. There was a bang and the hatch blew off the tank. Jason looked inside and commented with a pronounced, "Ew." Segraves walked up to the tank with the rest of the team. There was a sharp crack that rang through the air that enunciated the vapor trail of a sniper rifle. A body that had once belonged to a jackal fell to the street from a nearby rooftop. Instinctually, the team dove behind the wraith's bulk. He edged his head around a corner… _CRACK!_ He barely pulled his head in time to see a red hot sabot round flash across his vision followed by a white vapor.

"Take that you damn squid-headed freaks!" a Hispanic voice yelled over open the open comm. Channel. Segraves shook his head as he recognized the voice, all too well. He put his hand up to his open band comm. button, "Babe… You almost took my head off there." There was a pause. "Eric? Was that you?" He reached his hand over the armored front of the wraith and put a thumb up. "Oh my God! I'm sorry! Come on over!" He turned to Roberts, "Permission to take point and exit cover, sir?" Roberts turned, "I don't know, how well of terms are you with your girl over there; she's the one with the high powered slug shooter." On that note, Eric radioed to Mariana for permission to exit and received a go ahead.

As he jumped up on top of the tank, he looked toward where he had seen the muzzle flash, just ahead of him, at the base of the steps up to the police station on the corner. He hopped down and strode forward. To his left was Halverson, who was in an aggressive stance looking around for possible targets. "I can't believe she shot at me!" he said in a private comm. line with to her. She dropped her stance and turned to face him. "Sir," she began, "If I was your girlfriend you had left me alone in a city occupied almost solely by hostile alien forces, without saying any more than 'I'll see you after this,' I'd probably shoot at you myself." She shouldered him hard and then fell back.

Still in point, he walked up the steps to meet her. He took off his helmet and hugged her, releasing her quickly as her commanding officer walked out of the building's front entrance. The other sergeant, who was older than him by about ten years, cleared his throat loudly. Roberts contained the situation by walking up to him and introducing himself. The sergeant led Eric and his team up to the roof of the police station, where a pelican was to airlift the wounded in their platoon along with the rest of the fit soldiers out of the city. On the roof were seven wounded and bleeding marines. The only other one standing was a young corpsman tending to the wounds on a private.

As if on a set cue, the familiar whine of a pelican faded into existence from above the horizon. The green aircraft spun itself around and stopped just at the lip of the roof with the troop bay open and the ramp down. Once still an operator stepped down and began assisting the corpsman in moving the wounded on board. Roberts faced the rest of the team and said, "Corporal Halverson, assist that medic, Sergeant, you and Corporal Broward set up a secure perimeter and keep any unwanted investigators out. Move!" Segraves walked up to the roof line and surveyed the street to see if anyone was coming to check the burned up wraith. He stood up and turned back to look at the pelican and felt his adrenaline kick in. He heard the all too familiar whirr of a pack of banshees approaching and coming in fast. He raised his vision just a little and saw two banshees screaming over rooftops toward the Pelican. "Banshees," he yelled at the top of his lungs, "hit the deck!" As soon as the words came from his mouth, the pelican began to raise its altitude and make evasive maneuvers. When Segraves turned around, he noticed that Brandy was still in the "blood tray" of the pelican, holding on for life. The banshees fired, scoring good hits on the starboard wing of the craft. Fire billowed from the engine and the pelican started a death spiral, no matter how much the pilot tried to save it.

Brandy was hanging onto the hand-hold as tight as she could. She watched as the world outside began to spin around faster and faster as the pelican dropped at an alarming rate. She knew that once the pelican passed roof level it was all over. She waited for the next revolution and made the jump as soon as the edge of the roof was visible. She floated through the air for just a moment and slammed into the roof's sloped edge. She groped for an edge, but couldn't find one and began to slip off the steep slope. As she slid feet-first down the slope she screamed for help and shut her eyes, not wanting to see her own death. She heard an explosion below her and a blast of hot air rush upward. She could feel her feet slip over the lip of the edge… and was suddenly halted. She peeked an eye open to see two ODSTs holding onto her outstretched arms. The two hauled her on top of the roof with an "Up ya go!" No sooner had she touched the roof, she threw off her helmet and tackle-hugged her rescuers. After a second, one of the two cried, "Watch the scope, I don't want to lose it!" The other made a comment about it not being Close Quarter Combat training with a laugh. She got off the two of them and allowed them room to stand. The two pulled off their helmets. Eric asked, "Are you ok? Did you break anything?" No sooner had he uttered the words than she rushed him again in a hug and kissed him on the cheek and then did the same to Jason. She backed off again and said, "Thanks guys I really owe you one." Eric looked at Jason then her and said, "You'd do the same for us, Brandy, so don't make a big deal of it." He looked back at Jason who was blushing with a weird expression on his face. "Uh," he began, "Bro, You ok?" When there was no response other than the blush and expression, he turned to her. "I think you just made his day, Brandy." He shook Jason by the shoulder pauldron, which brought him back to reality. He led her and Jason off the roof in a rush. "Come on, let's see what we can do downstairs. The Colonel and Mariana are down there."

When Segraves' feet hit the bottom step of the building's atrium he picked up the pace from a jog to a sprint outside. He was greeted with the sound of burning metal and smell of ignited fuel. He ran up to Colonel Roberts. "Any survivors, Sir?" The Colonel shook his head, saying, "Life signs are nil." Roberts turned to PFC Wade and said, "Private, you're with us until further notice, welcome to the squad. Come on, those banshees will return to verify their kill, we'd best get moving." Mariana nodded solemnly and followed the rest of the squad as they began to walk away from the crash site. Eric turned around to take one last look at the burning hulk that once was their ticket out of the city and now ripped open the dark night with orange and yellow flames.

*\\\*/*

Eric sat down on the floor of what had been a UNSC recruiting office. The blown out windows were lying in pieces on the floor, next to him. Papers littered the floor and propaganda posters hung tattered on the walls. It had been a rough 24 hours. He glanced at his HUD's clock; it said 05:02. The sun would be up in a little bit, but it was still dark as midnight in the building. He stood up again and paced over to Mariana, who was sitting in the corner of the office on the floor. He kneeled down in front of her and gently put his arm on her shoulder. She looked up at him and he could see where tears had dried on her cheeks. He rubbed them off with a thumb and said, "I'm here for you, babe. Come on, let's get you back on your feet." He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. She was about to say something when the building began to shake violently. Roberts shouted for him to come to him from across the office. He ran over, nearly tripping over a fallen picture frame. When he reached Roberts the room shook again. Roberts, holding onto a wall motioned for him to look out the window. Eric leaned out the window and looked up, only to see a covenant cruiser overhead. The room shook again and another appeared from slipspace. More and more ships began appearing into low orbit. Under his visor the blood visibly withdrew from his skin. He turned to his CO and said in a shaky voice, "We gotta get out of the city, they're gonna glass it if they get the chance." Roberts nodded, and said, "Agreed, they seem to be congregating around the crater from the carrier's slipspace rupture." Roberts turned around and said, "Team pack up your gear, we're leaving!" Silently everybody grabbed their gear and started to head out.

Five minutes after heading west another carrier popped into low orbit. The team stopped and looked up. "We're not gonna get anywhere fast on foot. Let's split up and try to find a vehicle. Sergeant, you and Corporal Halverson scout on the north side of this block while I'll take PFC Wade and Corporal Broward on the other side," Roberts ordered. Eric nodded and they split up at the next building, which took up a full block. He motioned for Brandy to follow and they ran up to the corner of the building and he peered around. When he concluded that the path was clear, he waved her forward. They continued with her in point wielding an M7S and him with his sniper rifle at their six o clock. They followed the side of the building until about fifteen yards from the next corner. Brandy motioned for him to stop as she scouted the next corner. About five yards from the corner she flattened herself against the wall as a pack of seven grunts with needlers and plasma pistols waddled into view. Eric raised his rifle, but she put a flat palm in the air and slowly lowered it. She waited for about ten seconds for a leader, but none came out after the grunts. The methane breathing aliens were walking away with their backs turned and had not noticed them.

She dropped into a crouch stance and advanced slowly behind them to the corner and opened fire, cutting down the grunts quickly. She began to reload her SMG and Eric started moving slowly up to her, turning around to cover their back. As soon as the new magazine clacked onto the side of her weapon she spun around to find an elite ultra less than two feet away, plasma rifle raised. She attempted to raise her weapon in retaliation, but the larger creature grabbed it and delivered a kick to the chest. She let go of the SMG and fell to the ground. "Eric!" she screamed as the Sangheili holstered its rifle and tossed her gun to the ground. It unclipped a device from its belt. The contraption looked like a handle to a throttle, with a protrusion in the middle that the elite's fingers wrapped around. She began to crawl backwards as the alien took a step forward and activated the mechanism with a flick of the wrist. A white hot blade of focused plasma formed from each end of the sword's grip. The elite strode forward and stepped on her chest to stop her crawling. The weight of its foot alone knocked the wind out of her. When she began to squirm in an attempt to free herself the Sangheili leaned forward, bringing the blades in front of her face. Even with the blade nearly a foot from her, she could feel first degree burns forming along her neck and cheeks. The elite began to huff repeatedly in what sounded like laughter. It opened its four jaws and spoke in clear English, with a deep, bass voice, "Humans, nothing but weak vermin; neither deserving of sympathy or pity." It leaned back, raising the energy sword above its head, ready to strike.

In her mind she thought she was going to die with a Covenant Sword through the neck, a quick and painless death, but not a pleasant one either. She closed her eyes, waiting for the sudden flash of pain and sound of searing metal and flesh, but it never came. Instead she heard the crack of a sniper rifle being fired and felt a huge weight lifted from her chest. Her eyes flashed open and she looked to her left to see Eric walking forward, rifle to bear. He fired again and the elite was knocked back a step to her right. The thing opened its maw in a frightening roar where all four jaws opened. Eric responded with another shot to the thing's chest, the bullet bouncing off the weakened shields. The elite charged forward a step and was spun around with a shot to the right shoulder that eliminated its shield, spun it around and made it drop the sword, which landed by Brandy, deactivated. Eric threw down his rifle, now empty, and bounded over her. He jumped at the elite, grabbing its back armor and rotating his body to bring it face first to the ground. He drew his knife and plunged it, blade first, into the unarmored section near the base of the elite's neck. "How's this for a weak vermin, you ugly son-of-a-bitch?" he said as he twisted the knife in the thing's neck. The alien howled loudly as indigo blood spurted out of the wound. He pulled the blade out to stab again, but the elite grabbed his wrist and flipped him off his back. It began to stand up, but Eric charged it, knocking it onto its back. He leapt on its chest and slugged it in the side of the head. "That'll teach you to never threaten one of my friends!" he yelled, punctuating each word with a fist to the elite's head. The thing roared in his face and hit him back. Eric grabbed the top of its head and delivered a successful upper-cut to the roof of its maw.

Brandy leaned forward and picked up the sword's handle. As Eric punched the alien again, she threw it to him. He caught it with his right hand. He grabbed one of the elite's jaws with his left hand and wrenched it back, breaking it. The thing howled again in pain. He activated the sword and plunged it into the chest of the Sangheili, putting an end to its suffering.

She watched as Eric stood up, nodded at the body and clipped the sword's handle to his belt and walked over to her. He picked her off the ground and handed her SMG to her. He then proceeded to reload his sniper rifle. He walked back up to her, drenched in dark purple-blue blood and pointed a thumb to his right. "Found a ride." She looked past his shoulder and saw an overturned troop transport warthog. "I'll need a little help flipping it over though," he said, smiling through his depolarized visor.

*\\*/*

Roberts pressed the butt of his assault rifle to his shoulder, preparing to engage the spec ops brutes around the corner. He looked to his left, where Jason and Marianna were stacked up behind him. He put up an open hand to signal a hold maneuver. He poked his head around the corner just enough to find the position of the nearest brute. He pulled his head back and pulled a grenade from his belt. He thumbed the primer and leaned around the corner as he rolled it between the feet or the nearest brute. He spun back around, and gripped his rifle tightly, waited for the half second fuse to reach its end and…_Bang!_ The brute's mutilated corpse was flung into view and he rolled around the corner, firing his rifle. Behind him he heard the clack of a M6G pistol and the sputtering of a silenced submachine gun. A brute raised what looked like a huge revolver and fired at him, but missed. The weakly shielded brutes went down with ease, considering the amount of bullets that their skulls encountered. The final brute was twitching on the ground, so he stepped on it and put the last round of his magazine into its head. It jerked once and was still. He pulled out the empty clip and put a fresh one in. He looked down at the weapon the brute had been wielding. It looked like a huge pistol with a revolving magazine with a blade going down the underside of the weapon. He looked up at where the brute had shot behind him and saw multiple gouges in the side of the building that looked similar to the spread of a shotgun. He hefted the gun and examined it. For Covenant standards, it was very primitive. It obviously fired projectiles, but looked like it was gas operated like human weapons. He pressed a button on the side and the magazine dropped with a clang to the floor. He picked it up and reinserted it into the gun, which cycled the bolt automatically. He clipped it to his belt and decided to hand it off to ONI as soon as they were out of the city. He ordered the others to gather the grenades from the dead brutes. Once they did he took point and they began heading down the side of the building.

Less than five minutes later they had reached the middle of the block, and there was an indent in the building, leaving an open courtyard susceptible to enemy fire. He looked around and saw that the courtyard was an entrance to the building, with the doors set far back into the space. His radio buzzed and an incoming message came from Sergeant Segraves. He lowered his rifle and touched the side of his helmet to answer the hail. "Tell me that you've got some good news, Sergeant." There was a moment of silence and a strained sound on the other end of the call, finally Segraves responded, "Yes, sir. We've found a running transport warthog on the other side. Do you want us to swing around and pick you up?" He looked around and concluded that it would be best, "Yes, Sergeant, get over here as fast as possible." He motioned for the others to wait behind a planter for Segraves to come with a ride.

Within a few minutes, the whine of a warthog could be heard. Roberts poked his head above the planter and moved around it. He turned to the other two and said, "You two stay here until I say so, I'm going to cross to the other side and check to see if it's safe." Both nodded as he advanced out into the open. He crossed the courtyard slowly and deliberately, looking in every direction. He reached the other side without incident and noticed no other hostiles around the corner. He keyed his radio and ordered Jason to advance to him. He watched as the younger soldier vaulted across the planter and came over. He turned to see Segraves driving up in the warthog with Halverson sitting shotgun. The 'hog skidded to a stop in front of him and the two soldiers hopped out. Segraves was coated in indigo blood and there was a slight depression in the chest plate of Halverson's armor. As Eric strode up, he explained with one word, "Elite." Roberts nodded in response. "Private, get over here," he growled into his helmet. He turned around to examine the vehicle, "Is it able to get us out of here, Sergeant?" He glanced over to Eric, who nodded in return. He could hear the approaching footsteps of PFC Wade. As they drew closer, he heard the ominous sound of a door sliding open across the courtyard.

He spun around, bringing his rifle to bear as the sound of a brute Spike rifle firing reached his ears. As he turned, he saw Marianna sprinting toward him, dropping her rifle in the process. In a flash a flurry of white hot spikes seared toward them. He saw her lurch forward and fall as one caught her in the back, just above where her heart was. As she fell, his eyes followed her as she skidded to a halt at his feet.

Time seemed to freeze as their eyes met. Her face was contorted by pain into an expression of shock. He looked up at the approaching brutes and yelled for suppressing fire. He raised his rifle and released a burst that spun a brute around. He was suddenly lying on the ground before he could think. He looked down and saw a spike in his lower right abdomen. He saw Segraves rush over to him and begin to drag him back toward the warthog. He grabbed his chest plate and threw him back as he stood up, "Get her in the back of the warthog and get your asses out of here, I'll hold them off!" He couldn't see the expression on the sergeant's face, but he could imagine it was one of disbelief. He ripped his dog tags from his neck and shoved them into Segraves's hands. "Don't argue with me, that's an order! Move!" Segraves froze for a moment and then nodded.

Roberts primed a grenade and tossed it at the brutes, who jumped just in time to catch the shrapnel with their bodies. He fired his rifle in an attempt to suppress the brutes as Halverson and Segraves dragged Wade to the warthog, leaving a bloody smear in their wake. He watched as Jason jumped into the driver seat and start up the vehicle. He fired his rifle at another brute and felt the rifle knock against his shoulder, drumming out each round with purpose. He turned round to see Segraves running up in a final attempt to bring him. He grabbed the younger soldier and threw him with all his strength back toward the warthog.

Behind him the warthog sped off. He stole one last glance at it. He saw Segraves stand up in the back and salute him farewell. He saluted back and sent a flash communiqué with the updated team roster, which had him marked as KIA, and directions to a marine outpost near the town of Voi that had a hangar with ships that could get the team off planet. He had had the message pre-prepared in case he did fall. It would hand the fate of the team into Segraves's hands. He knew the Sergeant would do well.

He spun around the corner to avoid another volley of spikes. He looked down and saw blood seeping from the wound in his abdomen. He gasped as a wave of nausea and pain washed over him. He then gritted his teeth and reloaded his rifle. He spun back around and pulled the trigger, cutting down one of the brutes. When his assault rifle clicked empty, he grabbed his pistol. He brought it to bear and walked toward another brute in front of him, firing the weapon until that brute fell. Suddenly he was knocked to the ground and the hefted up by his neck.

A brute major was holding him up by the throat. It snarled, showing off some fearsome teeth. Roberts depolarized his visor and snarled back. He grabbed the brute pistol he had lifted off the spec ops brute and pulled its trigger, releasing a blast that made the brute stumble back, almost dropping him. He fired the thing again, this time draining the aliens shields. Plasma vented from the brute's armor as it fell off. Roberts yelled as he released the last two rounds into its chest. He fell to his knees as the brute slammed to the floor with a gaping hole in its chest. He glanced right and threw a fire grenade onto another brute, which burst open, leaving the brute screaming as its fur caught fire.

Another spike slammed into him, this time in the chest. The impact spun him around in a full circle. At the end of the rotation, two large blades punctured his chest. He howled with pain as he was lifted up, yet again. He looked down and saw the crimson blood pouring out of the holes in him. Knowing it was his end, he reached to his belt and grabbed the one thing he had been saving for a rainy day. He pulled it out and looked into the face of his killer. The brute roared, its rancid breath washing over Roberts. He roared back, "Open up and say aw, bitch!" as he primed the plasma grenade in his left hand and shoved it down the brute's throat. He paused for a moment and looked at the brute and said "Boom." Then all he saw went white and then black.

*\*/*

Eric threw the last can of biofoam that they had off the back of the warthog. He looked down at Marianna, who was gasping from the shock of the foam being introduced to her body. Her eyes dilated wide and she groaned as the foam expanded inside of her. Her grip on his hand tightened as her face contorted yet again. Her skin was pale from the amount of blood she had lost. As he glanced around the back of the transport, he could see that it covered nearly half of the warthog's bed.

He looked up out of the warthog and saw that they were now on the highway system heading out of the city. On the way through New Mombassa they had expended two cans of biofoam on Marianna, and the bleeding has stopped for a while. He knew she wouldn't last long at this rate. The warthog bounced as they hit a bump in the road. This action drew a pained gasp from her. There was a tug on his pauldron and he turned to face Brandy, who was twisted around in the shotgun seat, facing him. "Sergeant, where should we go?" He beamed the location Roberts had sent him to both her and Jason's helmets. He pulled his helmet off and nodded to Brandy, who plugged the coordinates into the Warthog's GPS. He looked down at Marianna, who was wearing a loose smile. "So where's our destination, _Sergeant?_" He smiled at the teasing comment and responded, "A marine outpost near the town of Voi. It's a fair distance away, so you hang on there." He leaned back and tapped Jason on the shoulder. "Did you get the coordinates? Ok." At his feet, Marianna took off her helmet and looked up at him. He could see specks of blood at the corner of her mouth. He knew she'd never make the trip. He squeezed her hand in response.

In the distance there was a flash and he jerked his head up to look at its origin. One of the cruisers above reach was firing plasma down on the city. He could see the buildings melting beneath the beam as it rained down with the intensity of the sun. Below him he could hear Marianna groan beneath him. He turned his gaze down and saw that her wound was bleeding again. She coughed, and spit out blood and bits of foam. He sat down on the floor of the warthog, facing the city, and drew her near. When she was leaning against him, she tilted her head toward him and said, "You know it's kinda beautiful, in a terrible sort of way." She grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. She held it tightly as she coughed again, spitting out more foam and blood. She let go of his hand and unclipped her dog tags and then grabbed his hand, with them in the middle. "I'm not a fool, I know I'm dying. I just want to do it peacefully." He swallowed dryly and gripped her hand tighter. In front of him the other Covenant ships above the city began bombarding it. They seemed to be going in a pattern as if they were uncovering something. "I'm just glad to be here with you," she whispered as she leaned her head against his shoulder. He felt the grip she had on his hand loosen. Finally her hand fell out of his, leaving her dog tags in his palm. He glanced at her face and saw she has a smile frozen on it, with her eyes closed. He lowered her down to the floor of the warthog and looked back as the Covenant ships burned his planet.

His eyes narrowed. His fists clenched with rage. Thoughts clouded his mind, "_The Covenant has taken nearly everything from me. My home. My love. They will take no more from me. But I will take everything from them. If it means I have to slaughter every brute in my way. I will have my revenge._"


	11. Chapter 11 Welcoming Party

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft.**

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**October 21, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**10:32 Hours, Earth Time**

**UNSC Marine Corps**

**Officer Division 67**

**Earth Defense Force**

**Location: UNSC Marine Outpost 551, Northeast Africa**

**25 Miles from Voi, Kenya**

**Command Center**

**Welcoming Party**

Major Geoffrey Chase paced in the command center of Marine Outpost 551, listening vaguely to the incoming radio and communications chatter that filtered through the speakers of the room. He tapped the sidearm on his hip, wishing that he was not in charge of one of the few UNSC outposts with functioning hangars within a hundred kilometer radius of New Mombassa. He was tasked with the evacuations of any possible citizens from New Mombassa, but at the current moment there was no possible way he could complete this mission. Recent air strikes from the Covenant had ridden him of officers and had left him with a shortage of competent soldiers to lead the evacuation convoys to and from the city. While he had the warthogs and pelicans, he did not have the leaders to complete the mission. He stopped tapping his pistol's handle and ran a hand through his fast graying hair. He closed his eyes for a moment and just listened to the white noise of frantic UNSC transmissions over the COMM Channels. He sat down in his seat and lowered his hand, shaking his head. He closed his eyes once more and leaned back, attempting to relax, if at least for five minutes, but as the more he relaxed, the louder the cacophony of chatter got. Just when it got unbearable he heard vaguely, "_…Hailing UNSC Marine Outpost 551, we are on approach, please assist upon our arrival, we have banshees not far behind us."_ Chase jerked forward from his seat, looked over to the young private at the communications desk. "Isolate that signal and prepare our anti-aircraft batteries. Corporal Collins, staff the gate and prepare for a hot arrival!" The young red-haired soldier replied with a quick, "Yes, Sir! Rallying soldiers immediately. Corporal Scott is leading the fire-team to the gate. Is that acceptable, Sir?" Major Chase shook his head and began striding toward the door exiting the room. He turned once he reached the door and replied, "No, Corporal, tell him that I'll be leading the defense myself." He walked out the door and headed toward the barracks.


	12. Chapter 12 A Driverless Chariot

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft.**

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**October 21, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**10:38 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72nd Company**

**Squad 849**

**Location: UNSC Marine Outpost 551, Northeast Africa**

**25 Miles from Voi, Kenya**

**Front Gate Entrance**

**A Driverless Chariot**

The Banshee overhead exploded as it came in range of the outpost's anti-aircraft guns, raining pieces of purple and blue alloy around the warthog as it skidded to a halt just inside the low gated walls of the outpost. Once the vehicle was at a complete stop, Jason and Brandy hopped out of their respective seats in the vehicle as Segraves scooped up Marianna's body and stepped from the bed of the warthog. As his boots hit the ground, a Marine Major, whose name tag read CHASE, ran up to meet them. The major stopped and looked all three of them over before saying, "Good, ODSTs. What company are you helljumpers from?" Brandy spoke before Segraves had a chance to, "Seventy-second, Sir. ODST Squad 849." The major muttered to himself for a second. When he looked up he asked, "Isn't your squad leader a Colonel James Roberts, seconded by a Lieutenant Peterson?"

Segraves stepped forward, nodding. "Sir, that was correct, but both Colonel Roberts and Lieutenant Peterson are KIA. My name is Sergeant Eric Segraves, I have assumed command of the squad, Sir." The major shook his head. "Damn, they were both good soldiers and good men. Sergeant, I'm afraid to tell you this, but you're now the second highest ranking marine at this outpost beside myself. I need you to come with me, so I can brief you on our current situation." Eric stood still as the major began to walk off. "Sir," he began, "do you have a shovel I can use?" Chase stopped and turned around. "Son, can't you get one of your soldiers to do it for you." Eric shook his head and replied, "Quite frankly, Sir, no. I knew this one personally. I would like to borrow an entrenching tool and a patch of earth, Sir." The major walked up to one of the surrounding Marines, took his shovel, and then handed it to Segraves, saying, "You have one and a half hours, Sergeant. Dig it good; dig it fast. There's a good patch of dirt past the motor pool, near the North entrance, about 500 yards from here. Meet me in the command center when you're done."

The Major walked off and entered the main building, leaving Segraves standing with Marianna's body still in his arms. The mass of marines who had prepared for their arrival dissipated as they went back to their prior assignments. He started off toward the motor pool. He walked past the rows of warthogs, mongooses, and scorpions and finally reached the point Major Chase had pointed out. He did not notice the camera lens focusing in and out on him as he made the long walk to the grave site and as he began to turn over the dirt with the entrenching tool. Each stab into the earth, each flip of the wrist brought back a memory of the short time he had been able to spend with her, while she was alive. It took him a short time to dig the grave, because that was one of the many things he had been trained to do efficiently in Boot Camp. He set her into the grave, took her pistol and rifle from the warthog and unloaded the rifle. He turned it barrel down and stuck it into the earth, at the head of the grave. He then put the dirt back into the grave after squeezing her hand one last time. He set her helmet on the stock of her rifle, kneeled down, and pulled out his small bound copy of _A Soldier's Tale: Rainforest Wars_, a book that, though written in the mid twenty-second century, was a classic still used in military funerals. He read solemly, "_We have come to a place far from home / Time long passed since we have seen the sun rise / A place where peace can finally come / a place where we can rest and laugh and sing and love once more."_ He then hummed the Marine Corps anthem and read a small excerpt from his copy of the Holy Bible, before standing and staring at the grave. On both sides of him, Corporals Broward and Halverson walked up and stood by him. He glanced out of the corner of his vision and said, "Thank you, Corporals, for being here." Jason put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Eric, we're not here as your soldiers, we're here as your friends. As long as you remember her, we'll remember her. We've got your back, like always."

He nodded and stood there for another moment before walking off to the main building of the outpost. Once he was in the door, he followed the signs to the command center where he was allowed in by the two guards who were at the doorway. As he walked in he was bombarded with the sounds of multiple communication channels being monitored at once. Ignoring the static crackle and strained voices of those on the air, he walked up to Major Chase and made a quick salute, which the major mirrored and handed him the shovel he had used. Once his hand was lowered, the major, whose expression was grim, said, "It's good to see you're done. I'm sorry about your loss, Sergeant. But if you will follow me to my office, we can begin your full briefing on our current situation." For the first time since he had arrived at the outpost, Eric removed his helmet and followed the major out of the command center and to a medium sized office/living quarters fit for an officer. Once inside, the major sat at his desk and beckoned for Eric to sit at the chair in front of him. As he sat down, Eric asked, "So what am I needed for again, Sir?" The major leaned forward and put his hands together. "Son, due to recent air raids from the Covenant and a vehicular accident there were no soldiers at this outpost ranked higher than corporal until you arrived. My last order from Higher was to send as many evacuation convoys as possible into New Mombassa and the surrounding regions to hopefully save as many civilian lives as possible. But because of these setbacks I had no one qualified to lead any sort of convoy until you showed up, Sergeant. Now that you have your helmet off, how old are you and how long have you been at your rank, Helljumper?"

Segraves sighed and responded, slowly, "Sir, I've only had this rank for about two months now and since you asked, I'm only twenty-one. Why, if I may ask?" He heard the major swear under his breath before answering, "Sergeant, you're definitely the youngest soldier of your rank I've ever encountered, I need to know if I can entrust someone as young as you with a mission as important as this." Eric watched as Chase pulled over a thin laptop and started using it. "I just pulled up your service record along with that of your squad mates," Chase continued, "It says here that you signed up at the age of 18 with your two squad mates you wound up being put in the same unit. In boot, you were placed into the marksman program and your squad mates into the close quarter battle program, where you three excelled in your respective fields. You defended several evacuations of the outer colonies, earning yourself and the two in your squad promotions to the rank of Lance Corporal. You three served the average marine life until you three participated in the battle of New Harmony, where your unit became trapped by a group of Covenant that counted over fifty individuals. The other members of your unit were incapacitated, leaving only three privates to defend themselves and their injured comrades, correct?" Eric nodded waiting for the major to continue looking through his records. "Then you three killed the entire group of forty grunts led by ten jackals by yourselves, earning each of you promotions to Corporal status. The three of you were then recommended to the ODST training center that was on Reach, and all three of you were accepted into the program. You began training in the September of 2551 and graduated in the top ten percent of your class the January of this year… along with the other two who followed you from your original unit. The Corps decided to keep you three together again, because the ODST squad you were assigned to kept you together again. Since you joined your squad, you were assigned as designated marksman, but never received a rifle until recently… Curious. You first participated in armed combat as a helljumper in the battle of Sigma Octanus IV, where you three successfully defended a marine compound against a battalion of Covenant troops hell-bent on reducing it to rubble. During the battle you and the other corporals successfully neutralized the enemy armor that was advancing on your position with the use of… a warthog, a Spartan laser, and well thrown plastic explosive charges. Later on in the battle, you used a sniper rifle to kill several unknown combatants, which we now know as Elites and then later on yours squad cleared the rooftop, killing a pack of brutes. You were hit with a needler shard in the side during the latter conflict, which had you pulled off the defensive line and put in the med-bay, where you were patched up with some biofoam. When the assault on the compound intensified, you threatened the doctor who was keeping you in the med-bay and then engaged a pair of hunters, using nothing more than a combat knife and won. That's impressive. This battle earned you not only a promotion to sergeant, but also the Purple Heart and the Marine Corps Medal, two very high honors. You were then shipped out to Earth, just a short time before the Covenant engaged Reach. When you arrived, ONI decided that your squad was to test out a new modular body armor for the ODST, which featured enhanced electronics, ballistics protection and plasma absorption. Then the Prophet of Regret showed up a short time later and you were dropped from low orbit to attack his ship, which failed, utterly. And now you've wound up in my office after losing three squad mates and becoming the leader of a three-man squad. Is that pretty much it, Sergeant?" Segraves nodded, "Yes sir, that is a good synapsis of my military history. So am I fit for your mission, sir?" The major nodded, "I believe that just you being here after what you've gone through makes you more than qualified to lead a basic evacuation from enemy territory. You look tired, soldier, go eat something and get some rest, we'll talk more in the morning. There is a spare office with cots in the barracks; I'll have that reserved for you. For now, get out of here. That's an order, Sergeant."

Eric stood up from his chair, saluted the major and left the office. He walked to the mess hall and got in line for some food. Once his plate had been filled, he found an open table, sat down and began to eat what food was in from of him. He had only been eating a short time before someone sat down directly across from him. He glanced up to see a blonde woman with short cut hair that was sitting across from him. She was fairly attractive with light hair that followed the angle of her jawline. She stared, smiling at him for a second before speaking first. "Hi, my name's Carla Bennett," she began as she held a hand across the table for him to shake, "You're one of the troopers who arrived today from New Mombassa. I'm sorry, Sergeant." He shook her hand, begrudgingly, and replied, "Hi, Sergeant Eric Segraves, 72nd Division. Sorry for what, if I may ask, ma'am?" The smile that she had been wearing dropped. "I'm sorry for your loss, I saw you bury that marine outside; did you know her well?" she asked with a somber expression.

He sighed heavily before responding, "Yes, ma'am, I did know her. She was a close friend of mine and my girlfriend." There was a moment of silence. She broke it by saying, "I'm so sorry, Sergeant. I really am. How did she die?" Eric set down the fork in his hand and looked her in the eye. "She died from a spiker round to the chest. She bled out on the way from Mombassa. Her name was Private First Class Marianna Julian Wade, if you don't mind me telling you." She grimaced at the image. "I'm sorry about her, Sergeant. I've been photographing and documenting this war for the past three years and I have never seen a soldier bury a fallen comrade, much less an ODST bury a regular Marine. It made a very iconic shot, Sergeant." With the last sentence she pulled out a small camera and brought up a holo-still of him holding Marianna's body and then more of him burying her and paying his respects.

He looked up at her from across the table and asked, "Ma'am, why did you take these?" She put away her camera, pulled out a touch note pad with a pen, and said, "Sergeant, I work for _Frontlines Holo-zine._I'm currently working on a still gallery and article on the current stage of the war. I haven't decided what to write the article about, but of all the stills I have taken, yours are by far the most moving. And that leads me to think that you are a good candidate for an interview for my article, which is if you wouldn't mind." He hesitated for a moment. "I've heard or your holo-zine and I may have read one of your articles, Ms. Bennett. You wrote an article a year or two ago about the evacuation of New Harmony and recently you wrote one about an marine tank division and an assault they did on Sigma Octanus IV. You're a good writer, I'll give you that, but your work needs a little more heart and purpose, in my opinion. You treat it as a news reporter, instead of a journalist. You're just a tad bit more informative than inspiring in your writing. Oh and Ma'am, it's the M808B Scorpion that the Marines use, not the M808V Main Battle Tank. But yes, if you do want to interview me, you can. Just ask a question and I'll answer as best that I can. Shoot."

The journalist sat in front of him for a moment, taken aback. "Uh, well thank you for the criticism, I'll take it to heart. So I guess we can start with the beginning, where did you come from and why did you join the marines?" He took a long swig from his drink before answering. "I was born on Earth, more specifically, Tampa. I went to a normal school, like most kids, and directly after graduating, I went to my local recruiter for the UNSC Marine Corps with two friends and we enlisted. We signed on, hoping to fight for our species together, which did happen, and we were in the same graduating class during boot. While the other two took close quarters battle training, my proficiency with ranged weapons landed me in Designated Marksman/Sharpshooter training. After boot, I was put in the Thirteenth Infantry, coincidentally the division and unit as my two buddies. Though I was my team's designated marksman I still was had not received anything with a long barrel, but instead, to make due, I was given an MA5C assault rifle, instead of the usual MA5B. Now if you didn't know it, the C variant has a larger caliber and barrel and holds thirty-two bullets, which is twenty-eight less than the B variant, but it packs more of a punch with better accuracy. My unit's first assignment was the evacuation of Arcadia just after boot. In the next two and a half years I would participate in five other evacuations of the outer colonies from Titanus III to New Babylonia. After New Babylonia, my unit was sent to defend New Harmony against the covies. During the battle for the planet, my unit was engaged by a company of Covenant infantry ranging from jackals to grunts. The covenant had the drop on us and incapacitated the other members of our task force except for me and my two friends. Seeing no other way out, the three of us took the offensive and using what weapons we could find killed the fifty attackers and then we carried our CO five miles to the extraction zone. Directly after that battle, we were recommended and accepted to enter into ODST Basic Training, which is a fancy translation for six months of hell. During that time you lost your name, callsign, service number and any identification aside from the name Corporal or Trainee. During the training we were watched by our late Commanding officers, Colonel James Roberts and Lieutenant Allen Peterson, who were selected by ONI to train a squad of ODSTs to test equipment on the frontlines. Directly after graduating from ODST Basic, we were put into this new Squad 849 and stationed temporarily on Reach until we were assigned to escort precious cargo to an ONI compound on Sigma Octanus IV. Almost immediately when we arrived at the planet, the Covies attacked and we were engaged en route to the compound, being forced to fight off banshees with our warthogs. When we reached the compound, the Covenant had begun amassing a large offensive on the base and we were tasked with the defense of the compound and everything inside of it. During the battle our squad disabled multiple enemy mortar tanks, defended a breach in the outer wall of the facility, and killed a pack of brutes on the rooftop. During the last part, I took a needle round to the side and was sent to the med bay, where I was patched up. Down there is also the first time I talked to Marianna. When the fight upstairs intensified, we moved from the infirmary and went our separate directions to fight off the attackers. On the way to meet with my team, I fought and killed two hunter aliens with a knife and became the second to ever lay eyes on them. After Sigma Octanus, I officially began dating Marianna and was sent back to Reach to be debriefed at an ONI base there. Once we were debriefed, my team was flown around the planet to an awards ceremony where I was promoted to Sergeant and given two medals, the Purple Heart and the Marine Corps Medal. Then we were sent to earth and when Regret's carrier moved his fat ass above New Mombassa, my team was sent to take it out, but he jumped into slipspace before we could land and then stranded us in the city. On our drop down, two members of the team were killed on landing and when we exited the city, my CO was killed leaving me the leader of the three man team known as Squad 849. While we were in the city, we picked up Marianna, but she was shot in the back by a brute as we tried to get out of the area and she bled out on the ride here. And that is basically the story of my life up to date, Ma'am."

The journalist sat across the table from him, looking overwhelmed with information. "Well… Sergeant Segraves, it sounds like you have seen just about it all… I'm glad I recorded all that, so I can reflect on it later… Uh, you mentioned two friends of yours that have been with you through this war, can I meet them?"

As if on cue, Corporal Halverson and Broward sat down on both sides of Segraves and took off their helmets. As Jason scratched the grey-blonde hair on his head, Eric introduced the two. "Well, Ms. Bennett, this lovely and dangerous hair-triggered lady to my left is Corporal Brandy Halverson and this laid back killing machine to my right is Corporal Jason Broward. These are the two friends who have been fighting for humanity with me since before high school. These are the others who make up Squad 849." He glanced at the two on either side of him and then nodded at Ms. Bennett and continued, "Team, meet Ms. Carla Bennett, a journalist and photographer for _Frontlines Holo-zine_. She's been interviewing me for the past ten minutes for her latest article." Jason reached a hand across the table and said, "Ma'am, it's a pleasure to meet you." Brandy turned to face Eric and said, "Sarge, we've cleared a space in the barracks for you, if you want to drop that pack of yours off and come back. We can answer whatever questions Ms. Bennett has until you return." Eric stood up and turned to the journalist and said, "Ma'am, I'll be back as soon as I can." As he walked from the table, he heard her begin interviewing his friends.

When he returned to the table, the other two had gone and left the journalist alone at the table. He sat down in front of her, once again and she leaned forward in her seat and pushed the thin frames up further on her nose. "Sergeant, I've only got a few more questions left for you, you ready?" He nodded as she pulled out the touch pad and pen again. "What is the one thing you would do to end this war today, if you could?" Almost immediately he responded, "Ma'am, the war would be over today if I was allowed to have my vengeance freely on these Covie bastards for what they've done to me and my species. Give me a rifle and good body armor and let me loose on 'em. I'm not saying that I am a loose cannon, but I will have my vengeance one day for what they have taken from me." She nodded and continued, "Last question, and probably the most important one yet: Sergeant, do you think our species can win this war?"

He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it, thinking. Finally he replied, "Yes, ma'am, I do think we can and I think we will. In Sung Tzu's _Art of War,_ it says to always leave your enemy an escape route, because if cornered any animal will attack with ten times the ferocity to survive. The way that I see it, The Covenant have left us no back door, no escape, so I know that as a species we will fight our very hardest to survive, no matter how many soldiers the Covenant send, no matter how much more superior they are to us, we will not lose Earth and will fight tooth and nail to keep her. If it requires the lives of me and my team and a dozen infantry divisions to save her, then we will gladly give our lives, because we are marines. But mark my words, Ms. Bennett, In two months this war will be over and humanity will survive it." She nodded and replied, "Sergeant, I truly hope that all the Marines fighting hold the same hope as you and if we do win this war and we are both alive, I'll owe you a beer. Now how long has it been since you've had any rest, Sergeant?" He had to count off the hours in his head. "Uh, nearly two days, Ma'am." She stood up from the table and responded, "Well, I'll leave you to catch up on some of that sleep, because if this war is going to end in under two months, then you're gonna be very busy. Good afternoon, Sergeant." She flashed him a quick smile as she left the mess hall. He watched as she left and noted that she was heading in the direction of the command center and the Major's office.

He stood up from the table, and began walking out of the mess hall in the opposite direction as Ms. Bennet until he heard a small snippet of a conversation two corporals were having at a table near the exit.

He heard one of the two corporals ask, "… So did you hear the new rumor that's racin' around?" The other shook his head and responded, "No, I haven't; what's the news?" The first corporal leaned closer and said, "The word is that the major has a new mission that he wants done yesterday. Turns out, command wants to get as many civvies out of the ruins of New Mombassa as fast as possible. Now, I've heard that those helljumpers who pulled in today are gonna lead this suicide run. Apparently one of them is a Sergeant, which makes him the head honcho below Major Chase. What do you think?"

The other corporal looked revolted by the idea. "Man, this is bullshit. When my old unit was still together, we worked with some of those ODSTs on a simple evac mission and all I can say is that those helljumpers are assholes. They nearly got us killed a dozen times, and that was just on a simple evacuation! If you ask me, those guys are all braun, no brains, they think they're as good as Spartans, but hell, they ain't close at all. And if we've got these prima donna ODSTs leadin us, well I want out. I heard that their unit already lost three guys, out of a six man squad and that their Sergeant is younger than us, so we're gonna be lead into a city owned by covies by a kid. Now if you ask me, that sounds like a death warrant. But hell they've already gotten the spotlight from the Major and that cute reporter chick, so there's no backing out of this one, man. All I can hope is that this Sergeant of theirs is not the guy who we saw out in the back burying that dead private. I mean, he looks to be as young as some of the recruits we're getting. And from my experience, those young guys get killed first." The first corporal nodded and changed the subject as Eric continued walking out of the mess hall.

When he reached the door of the barracks, he found it shut with a private standing guard. "Private, why is this door shut?" he inquired. The young soldier swallowed visibly and said, "I was told to keep this door shut by the order of Corporal Allen, Sir." This raised an alarm in Eric's head. "Well, Private, why is that?" The private tensed up and replied, tersely, "I'm not at liberty to say, Sir." At that moment Jason walked up beside him and asked, "Eric, have you seen Brandy? She said she'd meet me at the motor pool when she was finished cleaning her weapons."

Then it clicked in Eric's head. "Private," he barked, "Move aside, I'm over-ruling your previous order. Stand aside, now!" He pushed the private aside and slammed his hand onto the door mechanism. The heavy metal door clicked loudly and slowly swung open. He thought he heard someone say they wondered what ODST tasted like. A gruff voice from inside yelled, "I told you to keep that door shut, Marks!" Eric and Jason rounded the corner entrance to the barracks and saw two marines holding a female soldier against a wall as another was right on top of her with a knife pressed against her throat. As the female turned her head to face the door, Eric knew instantly who it was. They had found Brandy.


	13. Chapter 13 Negotiations Breakdown

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft.**

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**October 21, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**14:48 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72nd Company**

**Squad 849**

**Location: UNSC Marine Outpost 551, Northeast Africa**

**25 Miles from Voi, Kenya**

**Barracks, Main Room**

**Negotiations Breakdown**

"Jason, please tell me you have your sidearm." Eric said as he grabbed for his pistol at his hip and caught nothing but air. He now regretted leaving it in his pack in the opposite side of the barracks. "Corporals," he yelled, "stand down now!" He was now the focus of the assailants' attention instead of his close quarters expert and best friend.

"Uh, that would be a no to the pistol, Sarge." Jason said to his right. "Damn it. Ok, Jason, go get the major and some help." He watched as the two large marines holding Brandy against the wall backed off of her and turned to face him. "Corporal, let me rephrase that: go get the major, some backup and a medic. Double time it." The glanced as Jason sprinted out of the barracks and then returned his gaze to the three large marines who held his friend hostage. "Marines, I'm giving you one last chance. Stand down, that's an order!" The one with the knife pulled Brandy from the wall and held the knife back to her throat.

"Take care of him, I can handle this one," the marine barked to his cronies. The two men rushed at Segraves like linebackers blitzing the opposing quarterback. Before they connected, he moved one foot behind the other and at an angle and shifted his weight more to the back leg. As the first marine approached, he dropped as low as he could and came up under the marine, flipping him over his shoulders. When the second came he ducked to the side and elbowed the attacker hard in the back of the ribcage. As the second marine slammed, face first into a locker, denting it, the first got up and charged Eric again. When the assailant lunged for the tackle, he sidestepped and gave an open palmed push angled upwards to his opponent's shoulder, which sent his attacker crashing into a set of bunks, knocking them over. He then turned to see the fist of the second marine swinging towards his face. The fist connected with his jaw with a _Thwak_ and sent him reeling, dazed. He shook his head to clear it and spit out some of the blood that began to pool on the inside of his mouth. "Now you've got me pissed." He growled as he changed over to offense. He lunged forward, slugging the marine in the cheek, then followed it up with a knee to the stomach. The second marine doubled over and spit out a tooth. Eric turned to face the first marine who rushed forward again, swinging a right hook, which he ducked under and countered with a jab to the ribs.

As the first marine stumbled back, holding his ribs, Eric threw a punch to the man's face, which connected squarely as the man looked up. He glanced to his right and saw the second marine starting to get back up into a fighting position. He fixed this by delivering a rough kick to the outside of his knee, breaking it inward and then throwing an elbow to the side of his head, painfully incapacitating the man. He then dispatched the other marine by sweeping his feet from under him and kicking him in the chest, sending him sliding into a bunk, where his head connected with a support beam. He turned to face the last marine who had Brandy at knife point.

*\\\\\*/*

Brandy felt the knife blade press tighter against her throat as she watched Eric kick in one of the attacking marine's knees with a sickening crunch. She flinched as the last marine's head slammed into the bunk's supporting beam with a hollow _Clang._ As Eric turned to face her captor, she felt the knife press even tighter and a line of moisture ran down her neck from the blade. Her friend took a step forward, saying, "Marine, drop the knife." Her captor responded with, "Take one step closer and I'll rip this pretty thing apart like a Christmas present." Her head was pulled backward by one of the marine's huge hands. She could hear her pulse in her ears. Eric stopped and held his hands upward, "You don't have to do that Corporal. Let her go. If you want blood, let it be mine. She's done nothing, where I've just busted up your friends over there. Let her go." The edges of her vision began to fade because of the grip on her throat. She groped harder at the hand cutting off the blood to her brain, but it was like an immovable force. Finally she was let go and collapsed to the floor in front of her captor. Gasping for air, she put her hand up to where the knife had been and sure enough, there was a small nick, not far from a main artery. As her vision cleared, she looked up at Eric, who asked, "Corporal Halverson, are you okay?" He added a nearly imperceptible wink at the end of the question. She took in one more gulp of air, before answering, "Not yet, Sarge." She returned the wink and spun around, quickly, delivering the hardest kick she could to the marine's groin.

"That's for laying eyes on me." She said as she took a step toward the man who had nearly raped her. She kneed him hard in the face as the man doubled over from the groin shot, sending him tumbling back. "That's for laying your hands on me." She stomped on his right shin, splitting the bone with a crack. "That's for putting a knife to my throat." Finally, she kicked him hard in the side, feeling a rib or two break on contact with her boot. "And that's for thinking I could be dealt with easily." She turned to look at Eric who had an eyebrow raised, questioningly. She sighed, loudly, saying, "It's been a stressful day for all of us." Her friend and superior officer opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off before speaking by the door to the barracks.

In walked Jason, Major Chase and three other Marines, one who was a medic. They entered the room, guns drawn. They lowered them once they saw that Eric and her were the only ones standing. The major started by addressing the reinforcements he had brought along, "Marines, get some stretchers and take these men over to the med station, and once they're patched up, find them a cell in the brig." He turned to face her and Eric and said, "Damn, you helljumpers don't mess around." Both her and Eric nodded simultaneously and answered, "Yes, Sir." He nodded and scowled as stretchers were brought in and the incapacitated marines were hauled onto them and then guided out by a group of privates.


	14. Chapter 14 Long Road To Ruin

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft.**

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**October 22, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**04:00 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72****nd**** Company**

**Squad 849**

**Location: UNSC Marine Outpost 551, Northeast Africa**

**25 Miles from Voi, Kenya**

**Motor Pool**

**Long Road To Ruin**

Sergeant Eric Segraves stood at the entrance to the motor pool looked around at the large grouping of vehicles ranging from transports to mobile artillery platforms. For just being an outpost, it sure had a huge garage that housed nearly every vehicle known to the UNSC Marine Corps. He reached up and gave a slight tug to his left shoulder pauldron, tightening the strap that held it in place. As his hand slid down the front of his armor, it knocked into something on a chain that clinked softly. He grasped the dog tags in a fist and held them for a moment and then released them. He reminded himself that she would have wanted him to stay on task until his mission was complete.

He glanced to his left as he heard the soft rustling of fabric. Coming up the hall to the entrance was the reporter, Ms. Carla Bennett, long hair fluttering in her wake. She had an air around her that moved people out of her way without her saying a word. This was obviously not a pleasure visit. She stepped up next to him and looked out into the motor pool. "It's a lot of vehicles for one man to command, especially since he's never been stationed in an armored division before. Word has it that you're leading a suicide mission."

He nodded and responded without looking at her, still taking in the huge array of vehicles in front of him, "That may be so, but I have a feeling that you're not coming to warn me of gossip, Ms. Bennett. So, if I may ask, why have you come here?" She kept her eyes forward like him when she replied, "Well if this suicide mission goes through successfully, then I want to be there to document it's every step, especially on the first day." He turned to face her. "No, I do not want any more civilians to go on this trip then there needs to be. You're staying here, Ma'am."

A sly smile crept to the edge of her mouth as she turned to face him. "I figured that you would put up a convincing fight, so I took the precaution to approach the Major about this last night and he gave me the go ahead. So, like it or not, you're stuck with me. And if you're worried about me getting hit by a stray plasma bolt, the major gave me a set of armor from a soldier who no longer needed it. Apparently the soldier made the mistake of attempting to mess with an ODST last night and can't walk as of the current moment. So really, there is no point in arguing." Eric stared her down and jabbed a finger at her. "Ok, I'll allow you to come along, but if you become a problem, I will not hesitate to shoot you in the leg to get you sent back here. Are you armed?" When the reporter shook her head, he pulled a pistol out of a hip pocket and handed it to her along with spare clips. "This is an M6G Personal Defense System. It fires a twelve point five millimeter round and is accurate to from close to medium ranges in the hands of a skilled user. There are eight rounds per magazine. It will link up with your armor's helmet system to present a reticle, but it is basically point and shoot. I think you can surmise who this pistol formerly belonged to, Ma'am. I'm telling you now, that if you lose this gun, I will shoot you myself. If you shoot it when I tell you not to, I will shoot you myself. If you shoot a friendly, I will shoot you myself. But if you do shoot a baddie when I say you can, you will have a seat on a ride home. Use it wisely, Ms. Bennett, I'll make sure that you're riding with my squad. Go ahead and meet up with them at the south end of the garage."

Once again he grasped the dog tags around his neck as he walked to the front of the motor pool. He released them and cleared his throat before yelling, "Marines, assemble." In front of him, a group of one hundred marines formed in the aisle between all the vehicles lined up. "Marines, I am Sergeant Eric James Segraves, a member of the ODSTs. I will be leading this evacuation mission today. I do not expect you all to like me, nor do I expect all of you to respect me aside from my rank. What I do expect is to see the determination and willingness to obey that will be needed to live to tomorrow. Today we will be running an evac mission in hostile territory. Some of you say this is nothing short of suicide, and under most circumstances I would agree with you. But there is a reason that you have been picked for this mission and that is because you are marines. Command chose this mission to be run not from a Navy base, nor an Army base, but from specifically a Marine Base. Why, because we are the best of the best. We hold ourselves to a higher standard than them. While we may feel fear, we choose not to show it and this is what makes us great. You have all sworn an oath to protect Earth and her colonies and now the covies have reached earth, but there is one thing that they have not expected, us. They think that because they have won world after world that we are just going to roll over and let them take our last refuge without putting up a fight. Well I think today is a day to show them just how wrong they are. Move to your vehicles. I want there to be three warthogs to every terrapin and one of those three to be have a gauss gun. When we stop, I want the terrapins to be manned and defended as we move civilians into them and out of the city. Once a terrapin has been filled with at least fifteen people, I want it to head back to base as soon as it can with its escort, no questions asked. Once the civilians are secured here, you will receive orders for your next destination. That's how it will work. Now, Marines, if your vehicles are fueled up and ready to go, then get to it, we need to get into the city before day breaks. So, double time it, Marines!"

Immediately afterward, there was a hustle as marines sprinted to their vehicles and began to start them up. Segraves heard the growl of warthogs being started alongside the deep throaty roar of M20 Terrapin Armored Personnel Carriers spooling up. He made his way to the warthog he would be driving and clambered into the driver's seat and started it up after clipping his rifle into place on his back. The vehicle's weight shifted as Jason and Brandy hopped on. He glanced to his left and saw Carla Bennett climb into the passenger seat of the warthog next to his. He donned his helmet and brought up the road map that he would need. He nodded to the marine standing at the gate, who pushed the button to lower it. Once the gate was down, he led the convoy out of it and onto the highway heading to the city that had brought him nothing but pain and loss. He sighed and grasped the dog tags around his neck, knowing that there was a busy day ahead of him.

*\\\\\*/*

Dawn was fast approaching as the convoy entered the city. Eric kept a wary eye on the covenant ships above the skyline. The Prophet of Truth's fleet had hauled into system just hours after Regret's had quickly been dispatched. The ground forces, mostly brute led had taken refuge in what was left of the sprawling metropolis. If any refugees were left in the city, then they needed evacuation fast, and that was the convoy's job. According to the instructions that he had been given, there were nineteen key areas that any surviving refugees were ordered to go to. He had chosen his part of the convoy to begin with the sector farthest from the highway and then eventually work his way toward the center of the city. There were two terrapins and six warthogs under his direct control as well as eight other terrapins and eighty four other warthogs reporting to him as they made their ways to the different areas in the city. He took a deep breath and focused more on the road ahead of him. He steered around abandoned cars and debris in the street as he zig-zagged around the city. There was a tap on his right shoulder and he glanced up at Brandy who was swinging the turret of the 'hog around to sweep the area. She nodded at him and asked on a private team comm channel, "Hey, why have we not seen any Covies yet?" Next to him Jason shrugged. "Beats me, but I wouldn't complain. As long as we get these civies out safely, that's all we need to worry about. As long as we drive around quietly, we shouldn't encounter that much resistance… Theoretically."

As if to counter his statement, the terrapin behind them ran over a car, releasing the loud screech of shearing metal that echoed down the street. Eric opened a new comm channel directly with the terrapin's driver. "Basher, let's keep it quiet, we don't want to spook any hostiles. Keep those treads on pavement." There was a moment before the response and finally the corporal driving the APC said, "Basher acknowledges. Keep it on the road." Switching back to TeamComm, he commented, "I'm not liking this at all. This entire city is occupied by hostiles, why have we not seen any? Halverson, keep on your toes up there." She nodded in response. He switched channels again, "All Squads, report. How is it going out there?"

One by one, drivers reported in. Only four squads had encountered resistance, and that was only light. "Something's not right, all squads, stay on high alert, if something that isn't human moves, shoot to kill." He drove down the street until he ran into a barrier of cars stacked across the road. He tapped the brakes and slowed to a stop in front of the makeshift roadblock. He hopped out of his seat and walked up to the barrier. Glancing over his shoulder he motioned for Halverson to stay on alert. "Jason, get in the driver seat, if we have to bug out, then we might as well get out as quick as possible. He looked over the wall of vehicles and saw that spayed across them was graffiti that said, _Glass This!_ in bold yellow. Jason suddenly keyed into his headset, "Uh, Sir, I'm picking up a faint UNSC E-Band broadcast. I think it's coming from the building to the left." He looked up at the tall, skyscraper to the left and swallowed down the urge to call a retreat. Squad, dismount. Gunners, stay on those turrets and keep the position secure. Basher, keep that engine going." On command, the passengers and drivers of the warthogs and the five marines in the Terrapin dismounted and formed up around him, followed by Carla Bennett. "Corporal Broward, see if you can respond to that broadcast. Squad, we've received an E-Band broadcast coming from that building. We're going to check it for any civies who are possibly holed up in there. Acknowledged?" There was a series of nods and "Oohrahs" that followed as safeties clicked off rifles and submachine guns.

The group proceeded to make its way through a tiny gap in the wall of vehicles and stacked up at the door. "You two," Segraves began as he pointed out a private and corporal, "Private Hall and Corporal Alexander, take point and prepare to breach that door." There was a tap on his shoulder. He turned around as Jason depolarized his visor and said, "Sir I've isolated the signal and have encrypted it for two-way conversation. You can respond at any time." He nodded and keyed into the channel Jason had opened. "This is Sergeant Eric Segraves, UNSC Marines ODST, if you receive me, please respond. This is in response to the emergency band broadcast. Once again, please respond if able." Just a second later a static filled response came over the channel, "We receive you, Sergeant, if you are who you say you are, we are in need of assistance. We have brutes dropping down onto the roof and we have wounded and families up here. Please assist as fast as possible, we will open up the front doors for you remotely from here. Please hurry." He turned two the marines at the door, "Belay the door breach marines, Hall, you stay on point, we've got wounded several stories above and brutes coming down from the rooftops for them. Let's secure the building, Marines. Go." On cue, Private hall rounded through the open door, sweeping the dark interior with the flashlight mounted on his rifle. "Clear." The rest of the squad followed him in. Once the group made it to the center atrium, one of the marines walked over to the elevators. "Sergeant, looks like the lifts have still got power." Segraves moved up and hit the door button for one of the elevators. The door slid open to reveal a spacious elevator. He turned to face the private, who just shrugged and suggested, "Sir, it sure beats the stairs."


	15. Chapter 15 Hair Trigger

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft.**

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**October 22, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**07:15 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72****nd**** Company**

**Squad 849**

**Location: New Mombassa, Kenya**

**Mid-town New Mombassa**

**Mombassa Credit Union (Mid-town branch)**

**Hair Trigger**

The elevator beeped softly as the doors opened up on the fortieth floor. The marines in Eric's elevator moved out slowly, weapons raised and flashlights on. Pistol drawn and rifle slung across his back, he stepped out of the elevator and flicked the light on the bottom of his pistol on. Behind him, the second elevator door slid open with a similar sound. He glanced over his shoulder to Jason who was too stepping out SMG drawn.

As a one, the group systematically made their way across the floor. Segraves noticed a flashing off to his right and rotated to face it. Over the lip of a cubicle was a flashlight being held flashing on and off repeatedly. "Squad, right." He whispered and as a unit they made their way over to the cubicle. In the cubicle, to his surprise was a boy, no more than fifteen, holding a flashlight and a M6G. As he moved into the child's field of view, the child whipped up the pistol to face him. "Stand down, kid. I'm Sergeant Eric Segraves, UNSC Marine ODST. Where are the others?" The boy lowered the pistol and pointed down a side hall, saying, "Down there, Sergeant, in conference room 4053. Thanks for showing up, it's be a slaughter if we were to go against those brutes coming down alone." He nodded at the kid and said, "It's alright. We'll get you out of here."

He refocused his attention on the rest of the marines in the area. "Corporal Broward, take two marines and see how many refugees we've got in that conference room. The rest of you, saddle up and set up some motion trackers so we can see what's going on. Move it!" The Marines scrambled to set up small motion tracking tripods around the floor and then link them to everybody's HUDs. Private Hall tossed him a tripod, which he set up on the floor underneath the desk of a cubicle. He walked over to the security desk for the floor and brought up the security camera feeds for the stair well cameras. If the cameras were accurate, the Brutes and their forces were forty floors above them and coming down fast. He switched cameras to the roof and saw that even more phantoms were dropping down. His heart began to pound in his chest as more and more Covenant began pouring out of the dropships. His com rang with Jason's voice a second later, "Sir, you need to see this. There are slightly more refugees here than we anticipated." He got up and ran to the conference room where the rest of the refugees were supposed to be. As he walked into the room, his heart sank. There were at least sixty men, women, and children huddled in the room. Jason walked up to him and whispered, "Sir, Basher and Bull only have room for forty, maximum, not including the marines. We can't evacuate them all, not in one trip." He looked his friend in the visor and said, "Hold on, Corporal, I'll get this sorted out." He strode out of the room and opened a hail to all those under his command, "This is a hail from Sergeant Segraves to any Terrapins who are currently empty. We have reached our objective site, but there are more civilians than we can carry at one time. We have brutes dropping down on us and we need assistance moving these civilians. I will transmit our location if you can provide assistance. Segraves, out." Almost immediately he got a response from two Terrapins whose areas were deserted. He went back to the room and said, "Corporal, get them prepped to head down, Grizzly and Shark should be arriving in five." Jason nodded and responded with a "Yes, Sergeant."

He turned and walked back out onto the main floor. He looked at the marines and said, loudly, "Ready up, we've got incoming hostiles less than forty floors above us. Let's give them an earthly welcome. Private Hall and Stroud, block that door as best you can. Let's get proximity explosive set up near that doorway. Let's get a move-on!" He felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned to face Carla Bennett who asked, "Where do you want me, Sergeant?" He held up one finger to signal her to wait as a sound echoed from the stairwell. "Hall, Stroud, get that door blocked now! Marines, keep the noise to a minimum. We're going to move the civilians downstairs ahead of us." He keyed the comm in his helmet to Jason's. "Jason, get those civvies downstairs now, but quietly." And acknowledgement light flashed in his helmet from Jason. He turned back to the journalist and said, "You'd better still have that pistol I loaned you, because it may be needed." Once he said that, she unclipped the pistol from the holster on the side of the armor she had been loaned and racked the slide like a trained soldier. "Thank you for permission, Sergeant, but this isn't my first rodeo." He nodded and watched as Jason began escorting the refugees downstairs as fast as possible.

Once the elevators shut and departed, Eric stood up and looked around the room. Twenty two marines and one holozine journalist were all that stood between the refugees and the covenant coming down to destroy them. The makeshift barricade shifted slightly and every human in the room visibly tensed, adrenaline flooding their bodies. "Marines, hold fire until my command, acknowledged?" Every marine whispered an acknowledgement. The barricade was ripped down quickly by the invading Covenant. A huge brute followed a handful of grunts in through the doorway, weapons raised. Beside him, Carla shifted her grip on the pistol, raising it slightly. Eric slowly put a hand on top of it and pushed it back down, ever so slightly shaking his head as she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. Bringing the hand back to grip on his own pistol, he watched as in from the doorway poured at least forty more aliens. As quiet as possible, he whispered into his helmet's microphone, "Marines duck and ready frags. Private Hall, throw an incendiary toward the brutes, unprimed, on the command of 'pull'." He waited a moment as the first brute who walked in strode over to the brutes who had just walked in and growled something to them. As soon as he was less than three feet away, he called "Pull!" Private Hall lobbed the grenade as high as he could without hitting the ceiling. Eric tracked it with his pistol and fired a single shot, which struck the cylindrical grenade as it tumbled through the air, exploding its burning contents all over the brutes who were gathered together, igniting them instantly. "Marines, throw frags!" he yelled, bringing himself up to his full height and priming a grenade himself. He tossed the grenade, underhanded, down the aisle of cubicles to the feet of a grunt across the floor. As soon as the grenades detonated, like thunder, the Marines added, to the shrapnel bullets, from their weapons.

Eric aimed his pistol and entered into the fray. Next to him he could hear the clack of the pistol he had given the journalist. The party of covenant was cut down in just a few seconds, leaving behind a multicolored mess. "Mop up any survivors and fall back," Eric ordered as he stood up fully, "We don't know if there are any more coming down." The marines moved forward as a unit, putting down any aliens still alive. Once every creature had been slotted, they retreated to the elevators and descended. Once they reached the bottom, they rigged the elevators to blow and sent them back up. In the atrium were sixty or so civilians, hushed and scared as the Marines stepped off the lifts. Right on schedule, four terrapins smashed through the barrier of stacked vehicles and grinded to a halt in front of the main doors. "Marines," Eric began, "begin evac; let's get these people in those vehicles and to safety." The marines set up a perimeter and began loading the civilians into the APCs and closed the hatches on the transports. "Let's bring them home, people!" Jason shouted as he hopped into the warthog as the last hatch closed. Warthogs started with growls and the Terrapins backed out of the square and the blockade of vehicles began moving back out of the city.

An hour later, they arrived at the base, and found it littered with civilians. Across the motor pool, Major Chase strode up to him and held out his hand. "Sergeant, well done, you've brought back everyone alive. Plus you brought guests along." Eric took his hand, saying, "Thank you, Sir, but it would not have happened without these marines. They did most of the hard work." The major chuckled. "So you're the humble type, Sergeant?" He nodded his response as the major patted his shoulder and walked off to the open end of the lot.

Eric began organizing the other marines to effectively herd the civilians into the safety of the base. He glanced to his right and saw Brandy lifting a rocket launcher from the back of a warthog and slinging it over her shoulder. He motioned for her to come to him. She jogged over and removed her helmet, "Yes, Sergeant?" He removed his helmet and put a hand on her shoulder and motioned with his helmet to the crowd of people. "Corporal," he began, "Take over for me while I find out when evac is coming for these civvies." She nodded and replaced her bucket while he jogged up to the Major. Once he caught up to him, he asked, "Sir, may I ask a question?" The older man glanced at him as he pulled a cigarette from a pouch on his armor and then a match from another. "You may, Sergeant. Shoot." He paused for a moment as he watched the major strike the match on his sidearm's holster and light the cigarette. "Sir, how and where are we going to evacuate all these civilians too? They are not safe here, at this close of a proximity to New Mombassa, or the whole continent, for that matter. Has HighComm said anything of this?"

Chase drew a breath from the tobacco and then exhaled it slowly before answering. "HighComm has dispatched a fleet of pelicans to pick up the refugees and any wounded we may have. Where they are going to be taken I was not told, but the birds should be here within the hour. Oh, and ONI has decided to send an agent of theirs to speak with you and what's left of your squad, Sergeant. This agent should be arriving on the first bird in. Until then, take a breather after you get these refugees secured for evac. Get to it, soldier." Segraves snapped to attention and saluted, saying, "Yes, Sir." The Major returned the salute and returned to his smoke.

Eric began to jog off deeper into the motor pool, but was stopped by Ms. Bennett who grabbed his arm lightly. "Sergeant, could I stop you for a picture?" He turned to face her fully and shook his head. "Ms. Bennett, I would rather not be your 'poster boy' for your article." He flipped his helmet around in his hands and picked at a scratch on the metal brow above the visor. The reporter began to say something but he cut her off without looking up at her, "Ma'am, if you want a face for your holozine cover, go talk to one of the other marines. I'm not any sort of hero. I'm not a perfect soldier. I don't deserve to be the face of the Corps, I just do my best to execute my orders to the highest degree, nothing more, nothing less. I just did my job today. Now if you want a face to capture, talk to my squadmate, Corporal Broward. He loves being photographed by attractive women…" His voice trailed off as he noticed a glint in the sky reflected from his helmet's visor. He tried to swipe it away, but it was no smudge or nick on the surface. He turned to look out the entrance to the garage and squinted at the speck in the distance. It may have been a pelican, but he wasn't sure. He donned his helmet and keyed the comm. "Corporal Halverson, are the refugees secured for evac?" There was a moment of silence before the response, "Yes, Sergeant, they are." He turned back halfway to face the journalist and said, "Good, you and Corporal Broward rally on me, ASAP. Tell Jason someone wants his picture." He then removed his helmet and turned fully to face Carla. "Like I was saying, Ms. Bennett, one of my Corporals would love for you to take his portrait. Now he is the shy type, so you may need to coax a smile out of him, but that shouldn't be too hard for someone like…" He noticed the speck had divided into four objects and were getting closer fast. He turned back and looked at them again. He donned his helmet and pulled his visor flip-down piece over his faceplate. He upped the magnification to five times. He could now discern wings on the vehicles, but they were in front of the sun, so he couldn't make out much more. He began to walk toward the mouth of the pool and behind him he heard the footsteps of his team approaching. He motioned for them to follow, then he heard it: the unmistakable concussion of a fuel rod cannon being fired. He broke out into a sprint. A moment later, he saw the bolt zooming toward the entrance to the pool. "Sir! Move!" he yelled as the bolt neared the earth. Chase dove out of the way and behind the warthog he had been leaning on as the bolt impacted near the front of the vehicle. The warthog detonated as the heat melted through engine, throwing hot metal in all directions.

Beside Segraves, Halverson slid to a stop and unslung the rockets she had. "Brandy, pop those bastards with that SPNKR! Jason, raise the alarm and man that AA gun!" His team was in motion before he finished the orders. He ran to Chase, who was face down on the tarmac. He rolled him over and saw his abdomen was bleeding. He looked up at Bennett, who was staring in horror, and pointed at her, saying, "You get over here and put pressure on this wound!" She immediately rushed over and cupped both hands onto the wound, which was gushing blood. "Put as much pressure as you can on that. Okay?" She nodded and pressed down more. He unslung his rifle and aimed at one of the banshees and returned fire, hitting one of the stubby wings. He heard the alarm blare and Jason begin firing the anti-air gun. Behind him, marines began pouring into the pool, weapons raised. "I need a medic over here!" he yelled as two marines with red crosses on their shoulders rushed over to the major. He reloaded his rifle and moved out into the open just in time to see two of the banshees go down in flames. He saw Brandy fire another rocket, which smashed into the nose of another flier. The final banshee exploded under a hail of bullets of various calibers. "Marines, I want this base secured now! I need to know if any other forces could have penetrated our perimeter. Move!" he called as he ran over to Chase, who was being tended to by the medics.

As he approached, one of the medics relieved the reporter and took over applying pressure to the severe wound on his side. As the medic took over, she backed away and stared, in shock, at the blood on her hands, then up to him. "Ms. Bennett, go inside, now." She nodded and rushed inside the base. Segraves sprinted over to the command center, where he walked in, saying, loudly, "Corporal Collins, I need a line to Command, now." The soldier, who looked to be the same age as him, nodded and said, "Patching you through now, Sergeant." There was a moment of static through the speakers, then the main screen lit up with the portrait of a man sitting at a desk on a ship. "This is High Command, receiving from Marine Outpost 551. Go for it." Segraves walked in front of the screen and took off his helmet. "High Command, this is Sergeant Eric Segraves, ODST, Service Number 72514639I, transmitting for Marine Outpost 551. My superior officer has been wounded, and it does not look good. There is also a significant number of unarmed civilian refugees awaiting evacuation. We are a perfect bulls eye for Covenant attack. I am requesting a SITREP on the evac birds that are on their way. Over." The man on the screen typed something onto his computer and then faced the camera. "Sergeant, the first birds should be arriving momentarily. I suggest you load your wounded first and as many civilians as you can. Also, and ONI Lieutenant will be arriving to your outpost on the first pelican. Hold out as best you can, Sergeant, the second wave of pelicans will be bringing reinforcements. Acknowledge, Outpost 551." Segraves nodded. "Marine Outpost 551 acknowledges. Over." He saluted as the lieutenant on the other end returned it, saying, "Good luck, Sergeant. Command out." The screen went black. He turned to the communications corporal, saying, "Patch this line to my helmet, in case I need it." The corporal nodded as he strode out of the room and over to the hangar. He walked in just in time to see a pelican begin its descent into the hangar bay.

As the craft neared the deck, the rear hatch opened and on the edge of the blood tray stood a man in a navy uniform and a female marine captain. The pelican touched down and the pair stepped off. The navy lieutenant was carrying a briefcase in his hand as he walked up to Segraves, who saluted. The captain spoke first after returning the salute, "Sergeant, I'm Captain Leng. This is my associate from ONI, Lieutenant Quinn. We need to speak with Major Chase and whoever is his second in command. "Ma'am, I can take you two to see him, but we were attacked by Covenant a few minutes ago and the major was wounded pretty badly. I do not know whether you will be permitted by the medics to see him." The Lieutenant stepped forward and said, "Sergeant, he will want to be alive to see what we have to show him."


	16. Chapter 16 Turning Of Events

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries. **

**October 23, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**04:00 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72****nd**** Company**

**Squad 849**

**Location: UNSC Marine Outpost 551, Northeast Africa**

**25 Miles from Voi, Kenya**

**Infirmary **

**Turning of Events**

Medics rushed around the stretcher as they worked to stop the hemorrhaging of Major Chase's abdomen. The chief corpsman told Captain Leng that had they arrived five minutes prior, the major would not have been sedated. "Well then who is the next most senior officer on site?" the Captain demanded the man. The corporal nodded his head in Eric's direction and said, "There's your guy, Ma'am. That is unless you're counting yourself."

Both Captain Leng and Lieutenant Quinn turned to face Segraves. "_You_ are the next in command, Sergeant?" Involuntarily, he stood up a tad bit straighter before replying, "Yes Ma'am, I am the next highest ranking military personnel at this installation aside from yourself and Lieutenant Quinn."

The captain cursed under her breath and looked over to the intelligence officer beside her and said, "Well, Lietentant, you might as well show him your little pack of goodies in that case, considering he'll be administering the changes directly." The navy lieutenant nodded and looked to Segraves. "Sergeant, is there somewhere somewhat private that we can convene?" Segraves nodded and asked for them to follow. On the way out, Captain Leng ordered the medics to prep the major for evacuation.

As they walked to the conference room, marines herding both civilians and wounded to the hangar shouted over the sounds of the loudspeakers broadcasting Corporal Halverson's voice as she conveyed the evacuation orders that Eric had given her. Once the door to the room shut, the barely any sound entered the room. "Take a seat, Sergeant. This will be a short presentation, but pay attention to what is discussed. Some of what will be discussed is either currently top secret or declassified within the last twenty four hours. Understand?" He nodded at the Lieutenant's order as the briefcase was set onto the table and opened to reveal a small holoprojector. After the projector was powered on, the lieutenant brought up several images, which floated in the air. "Sergeant as you know, Reach was lost not too long ago, the entire UNSC fleet there destroyed. Only one ship survived, but it was too crippled to make it back to earth in one piece after initiating the Cole Protocol, the _UNSC Pillar of Autumn. _The crew, led by several Spartans and an artificial intelligence, stole a covenant ship and beat back the fleet that followed them after the jump they made while executing Cole Protocol. They then returned to what was left of Reach and ditched the half destroyed covenant ship and revived what was left of the _UNSC Gettysburg_ and returned to Earth with only of a fraction of the crew that left Reach. That is the official story that was released to the general forces and the families of those lost. The truth, in short is that one Spartan carrying the AI and a handful of other personnel were the only survivors of the _Pillar of Autumn_ after it crash landed onto an alien world built by a race of beings that predate both humanity and the Covenant. The world and what was on it is much more classified than I can tell you, but the fact of the matter is that the Covenant worship this ancient race and what they have built. Apparently they track down artifacts left from this race mercilessly. The Covenant are burning away New Mombassa to uncover another artifact underneath the city. What it will do, we don't know, but whatever it does, it won't be good. Moreover, there is evidence that the Covenant may be splitting down the seams," images of dead elites riddled with the projectiles from brute spike rifles and mashed to pulps by brute weapons replaced the image of the huge crater being dug open by the covenant cruisers above what was left of the city. "These images," continued the Lieutenant, "were captured by Master Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck, a fellow ODST sergeant, after crashing into New Mombassa and later declassified by an ONI Captain. Alas, these stills hint that tensions between the Brutes, or Jiralhanae by formal nomenclature, and the Elites, or Sangheili are at or past the breaking point. Intelligence has suggested that these two species have been at odds for a very long time. What is new is the fact that after the Covenant Prophet of Regret left our solar system and the Prophet of Truth's fleet arrived, Truth's ground forces led almost entirely by Jiralhanae killed off almost all of Regret's Sangheili leaders and have claimed their leftover forces as their own. If the Covenant split, there's no telling what will happen. There is something else that the Captain would like to tell you herself." The Lieutenant looked up to the Captain Leng, who let out a long breath and looked at Sergeant Segraves from across the table.

"Since Regret landed, ONI has been trying to sift through the clutter of communication data being sent to and from the city to locate a specific person that the UNSC High Command would like found ASAP. It seems that a Spartan has gone missing in action somewhere inside of what is left of Old Mombassa. Spartan 062 went dark and was presumed dead when Regret jumped into slipspace two days ago. The sector that she was supposed to be in was effectively destroyed when the slipspace rupture occurred. But, as it would seem, her emergency frequency came online four hours ago. Her recovery is now a top priority at ONI because she holds valuable information that could help the UNSC more if she was alive than dead. ONI has picked a team of ODSTs to recover her before the Brutes do. The last update the Lieutenant received was that her vital signs read green across the board, but she was unconscious. The bad news is that she's located in brute central Are you following along so far, Sergeant?"

"Yes Ma'am," Segraves began, "But my team is only three members, including myself. Even if we went into the city under the cover of darkness, it would be impossible to move a half-ton unconscious soldier with only three ODSTs unless we can somehow sneak in some heavy lift gear." The captain smirked for a moment before she finished her speech, "Well, Sergeant, you're in luck, your squad is being temporarily merged with another ODST squad in the area. Your team will fly into the city under darkness and extract the Spartan by the end of the day today. You'll be fully briefed in about an hour when the rest of your team arrives. That ODST master gunny will be leading the team. Once you leave this base with them, you're under their squad's ONI handling officer for this mission. Understand, Sergeant Segraves?" When he responded with an affirmative, she dismissed him by returning his salute.

*\\\\\*/*

Forty-five minutes later, Eric was sitting down in the same conference room next to Jason, who was fidgeting with his armor as what was left of his squad waited for Master Gunnery Sergeant Buck and his squad to arrive from the hangar. Across the table, Brandy was cleaning her pistol again. The door to the room slid open and in walked three other ODSTs. "Marines, post for the master gunnery sergeant," Captain Leng called. Eric's ruck pack fell over as he set his helmet on the table and stood up to half attention. Next to him and across the table, Jason and Brandy did the same. The four ODSTs walked to their seats and took off their helmets. Master Gunny Buck saluted the captain and thanked her before he turned to the three other helljumpers and said, "Take a seat marines. I'm Master Gunnery Sergeant Buck, this is Corporal Miles, Lance Corporal Doe and PFC Crespo. It looks like we'll be needing to get to know each other."

Eric shook the gunny's outstretched hand. "I'm Sergeant Segraves, These are Corporals Broward and Halverson. It's an pleasure to work with you, Gunny." Buck nodded in response and took a seat after dropping his pack. At the opposite end of the table, Lieutenant Quinn cleared his throat and spoke into the headset he wore on his left ear, "You're good for broadcast, Ma'am. Secure line alpha." In the center of the table a blonde woman in a navy uniform appeared in the hologram projector. The woman pushed a stand of hair from her face and cleared her throat before beginning.

"Good morning, gentleman and ladies. I am Captain Veronica Dare, field agent in the Office of Naval Intelligence. I'll be your team's ONI handler for this mission today. I assume you all have made your introductions to each other and are on common ground, so I'll cut to the chase on this briefing. After the blast in New Mombassa two days ago, ONI lost contact with one of their ground assets, UNSC Spartan Maria 062. Spartan 062 was in transit to get ground survey scans from a researcher who worked with the New Mombassa Superintendent AI when the Prophet of Regret's battle group arrived in orbit. She had been rushed over to the Mombassa region from Korea after testing new armor for the Spartan program less than twenty-four hours prior. The last information we heard from Spartan 062 was that the New Mombassa Police Department had stopped anyone from entering the ONI building as soon word of the fleet came down. She was ordered to abandon the mission and make her way to the space elevator to link up with a marine unit. She was in full MJOLNIR Mk VI armor when she dropped from our grid two days ago after the blast, which could explain why she is suddenly reading perfect vital signs as of the moment. The bad news is that as far as ONI can tell, she is unconscious and somewhere in the ruins of the space elevator, which is alien territory. We have her coordinates locked into the phantom dropship you will be flying into the city with. Private First Class Crespo will pilot the dropship and drop down three troopers with some heavy lift gear to pull out the Spartan and then you will either move the Spartan up the gravlift on the back of the phantom or relocate and extract at a better location. Simple locate and extract. Any questions troopers?"

Almost immediately, Jason spoke up. "Uh. Ma'am, if I heard you right, you said we would be flying into what's left of the city in a Phantom? Was that correctly heard?" The captain on the projector smiled to herself and replied, "Yes, Corporal, you did hear correct. Master Gunnery Sergeant Buck's squad flew out of the city the day of the attack in the very dropship you will be returning to the city with. PFC Crespo has been trained as a pilot and is skilled with the craft. Due to a new Tier 1 asset that the UNSC has acquired, the phantom has the codes to bypass the Covenant guns around the city and the fleet above the dig site. Any more questions? Time is ticking by, troopers." When no one else spoke up, Captain Dare nodded to Captain Leng. "Alright, troopers, get out there and get that Spartan, that's an order," Captain Leng barked. They all stood up and saluted the captain and headed to the hangar after she returned the salute.


	17. Chapter 17 Back Out Of The Frying Pan

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft. **

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**October 23, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**05:32 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72****nd**** Company and 11****th**** ODST**

**Squad 849 and "The Squad"**

**Location: UNSC Marine Outpost 551, Northeast Africa**

**20 Miles from New Mombassa Ruins, Kenya**

**Stolen Phantom Dropship**

**Back Out of the Frying Pan, Back Into the Fire**

Once they were all as comfortable as possible in the big purple dropship and on the way to the city, Eric removed his helmet and loaded his sniper rifle. He checked to make sure that the energy sword he took from the elite was still in the makeshift holster he had made in the conference room with plastic straps and a lighter Across the cabin, Buck removed his helmet and pointed to the rifle. "Sergeant, it's good to see we've got a sharpshooter here. Our squad's is currently being patched up at another Marine outpost near Voi. He took the blade end of a grav hammer to the chest. Damn beast punctured a lung. We had a hell of a journey getting out of the city." Next to Buck, Corporal Miles laughed. "Well Gunny, to tell the truth, I don't know whether to more sorry for Romeo or the poor nurses who have to tend to him. Good ol' Romeo always had a way with the ladies," the rough looking marine said, ending the statement with a wink at Brandy. Buck laughed softly, "I'm gonna see how it's going up front. I'll be back." Corporal Miles watched the gunny walk to the cockpit and leaned forward to stretch a hand out to the three across from him. "I'm Corporal Taylor Miles, but you guys can call me Dutch. The PFC piloting this bird is Mickey," Dutch started before he elbowed the sleeping trooper next to him, "and this sleepyhead is Rookie." Rookie shook his head and then put out his hand too. "Hey, Lance Corporal James Doe is what I'm called. I know, not the best name given to a soldier who will possibly be injured or killed, and trust me it makes medical reports a pain, but it's what my parents decided on." Eric smiled and shook the Rookie's hand and Dutch's as well. "Sergeant Eric Segraves. I'll let these two give their own introductions for a change." He said as he looked over to Brandy who flashed a big grin. "They call me Corporal Brandy Halverson. This guy next to my left is Corporal Jason Broward, our CQB and explosives guy." Dutch grinned wide as he shook Jason's hand, "Hehehe, my kinda guy. And you guys should feel lucky. This is the most I've heard Rook over here talk at one sitting."

At that moment Buck walked back into the cabin and hit a control with his palm. Synchronously, the doors on the sides of the craft lowered. Light burst into the cabin, illuminating all the occupants and the heavy dolly and hydraulic jack that were in the center. "Rookie, Dutch, get on those side guns. Keep an eye out for any hostiles coming for us." Eric stood up and put his helmet back on. Buck's voice crackled over the helmet comm as he called to the captain. "Veronica, we have visual on the city. Over." A moment later Captain Dare's voice came in response, "I copy you, Buck. I've sent Mickey the codes that Vergil's cooked up. They should keep the Covenant off your back for a enough time to slip in undetected by their sensors. He says you should go as fast as you can because he doesn't know how long it will take the Brutes to crack those codes. Over." The gunny put his hand up to his helmet again, "Thanks for the heads up. We'll be in touch. Over." He was sighing as Eric stepped up next to him. "Just two days ago I was fighting to get my squad out of this city alive. Now I'm having to go back in for what? One lousy Spartan? I went back in once for a woman and got her out before, but she wasn't buried under the rubble of the space elevator." Eric depolarized his visor and faced Buck, "Well Gunny, at least your woman made it out alive. Brutes made sure I wasn't that lucky. Half of our squad was taken out before we could escape. So, Gunny, how about we get some payback and get this op over with?"

Buck put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Sergeant, I like how you think. I looked at your squad's files and I think your corporals will be suited for the close quarters situation in that rubble. I would take Mickey, but he's the only pilot we've got. When we drop off the first team, I'll head it off with your two and Rookie. I need you to stay up here with Mickey and Dutch to keep our ship up and running. Understand?" Eric nodded, "I got ya, Gunny. Broward and Halverson will be at home down in that CQB environment." Buck let go of his shoulder and headed off to the cockpit but stopped at the entrance and turned around. "Oh, and Sergeant, my condolences, I've lost friends and fellow squadmates before. Trust me, it never gets any easier." Eric's hand brushed the pocket which held Marianna's pistol as Buck turned back into the cockpit.

Eric turned to Jason and Brandy who were donning their helmets and loading their weapons. "So what's the plan, Sergeant?" Jason asked as he released the slide on his pistol. "You two will accompany the gunny with getting this supersoldier unearthed while I'll keep the ship warm for you guys and hopefully in the skies until you need extraction. Sound good to you?" Eric asked. Jason looked like he was about to say something but Brandy cut him off. "Sounds good to me, Sarge. Orders are orders, right?" Eric nodded. Behind him Buck walked back into the cabin. "Alright people get locked and loaded. Mickey says we're five miles out from our destination," Buck announced. While the gunny hailed the captain, Jason and Brandy headed to the rear of the craft and waited by the gravlift entrance as the ship began to slow.

Once they were over the destination, Mickey brought the ship to about twenty feet above the rubble and opened the back gravlift door. An odd purple hue shone on the walls of the cabin. "Rookie, you two," Buck began as pointed to Brandy and Jason and then to the gravlift door, "You're with me. Sergeant, once we're on the ground and set, start sending down the equipment. Mickey, keep me posted on how it's going up there. Dutch, keep an eye out for any baddies. Alright boys, and girl, let's get this done!" Rookie pushed himself up and away from the side gun and moved behind Buck to the lift. One by one they stepped out into the lift and slowly descended from the cabin. "Sergeant, send the jack down first." Eric moved over to the ram and began to unbuckle the straps holding it down. "Roger that Gunny." Dutch walked up beside him and lifted the other side of the jack. When they got the ok, they walked it down to the lift. Just as they sent it down the lift, Mickey called out over the comm, "Uh, Captain, I have a flight of Banshees about two miles out on my scanners who are attempting to ping me. I have no response to send back. Could that pink floating creature come up with some for me to send?" in a moment, the captain responded, "Give him a moment, hold on sending that equipment down. For now, lift off and fly around the city until Vergil can send your response. Just move along like you've got a purpose. The ground team won't need the dolly until get Spartan 062 ready for movement, so this will give them a little time to get working. For now, draw those banshees away from the ground team. How copy?"

The dropship began to rise rapidly and accelerate forward almost immediately. "Yes Ma'am. That would be a solid copy on this end. Gunny, do you think you guys will be alright down there until we can swing back?" Mickey said as they moved away from the ruined spire of the space elevator. "We'll be fine as long as those banshees don't see us down here. Go and get out of the area, Mickey." Buck said as the jack clanged in the background. The phantom sped around the corner of a building barely standing as Mickey called to the Captain, "Uh, Captain, those banshees are closing the distance to one mile out and still pinging. Tell Vergil to hurry it up." There was a weird alien squeal on the other end and the captain replied, "He says he's going as fast as he can, but he doesn't know Jiralhanae coding, only Sangheili flight information coding. He says give him twenty seconds more."

Eric turned around in the cabin and walked up toward the cockpit. "Dutch, step back from the gun. We don't want any Covies to know there's humans in this ship." He said as he raised the side doors. He stepped into the cockpit and was bombarded by purple displays and panels. "Show me where the banshees are, PFC." He said as he put a hand on the doorway. Mickey pointed to a display in the center of the console. Less than three quarters of a mile away three dots in a V formation were closing in on the phantom at an alarming rate. When the dots were nearly on top of the phantom, the captain called in, "Vergil just bounced the message off of your dropship to those banshees. It may take a moment for them to receive it." The dots backed off from the phantom as if they had banked up and away from the ship. Mickey let out a sigh and began banking up and around a low building.

Almost as soon as the ship was above the roofline, something hit it hard with a concussion. "Ah, crap. Looks like those were brute pilots." Mickey said loudly. Eric brought up his hand to his helmet and opened the comm channel, "Captain, this is Sergeant Segraves, whatever your man sent them they didn't like. They're firing at—." He was cut off by another plasma hit that sent Dutch slamming to the deck of the troop bay. "I'm losing power, they hit the engine generators!" Mickey cried out. Another hit sent Eric sprawling. "I've lost steering. We're going down!" Eric scrambled to his feet in time to see the side of a tall building coming up to the nose of the phantom rapidly. Immediately, he grabbed Mickey by the collar of his armor and yanked him down to the ground and into the troop bay, where he opened the doors. As the phantom passed low over one last building, he grabbed the two other troopers and bailed out.

The roof of the building came up to meet him fast and hard, but he remembered to roll to lose some of his momentum. All in all, he wound up sprawled out, face down on the roof, missing his helmet. Fighting the pain, he rose to his hands and knees and looked around for Mickey and Dutch. Dutch was on his knees looking at the sky and Mickey was lying on his back groaning. Quickly, Eric checked his equipment to find that he had lost his rifle in the fall, but still had everything else. "How are you guys?" he asked. Dutch flashed a thumbs up, while Mickey raised a hand and asked, "I feel like a building just pimp-slapped me. Could we just rest here for a while, Sergeant Segraves?" Eric stumbled over to the trooper and depolarized his visor. "Anything broken?" Mickey rolled over and replied, "I think I'm good. I'll be feeling it tomorrow, though." Across the roof Dutch yelled, "Hell, Mick, I'm feeling it now!" They all groaned as they stood up. "Alright, let's get off this roof before they come around to confirm their kill." He reached down and picked up his helmet as Dutch shouldered open the door to the stairs. As he put his bucket on, he heard Buck yelling over the comms, "Mickey, Dutch, Sergeant, respond, that's an order." He reached up and opened the channel, "Gunny, this is Segraves, we lost the phantom." Buck responded immediately, "Screw the phantom, how are you three?" Segraves looked at the other two before replying, "Well to quote PFC Crespo, it feels like we've been pimp-slapped by a building. We're beat up pretty good, but we're up. I have no idea where we went down, though." This time the captain cut in, "Sergeant, you three went down in Old Mombassa, across the water from the others in your team. You're not too far from the Metropolis bridge, which will get you into the city, but you're a good ways away from Buck and his team, so you won't be reaching them by nightfall. I'll guide you to the bridge and give you coordinates to the Gunny's position, but you three are on your own down there. Copy?" Eric grunted as he started off down the stairs. "Roger that, Captain. We'll be careful. We've still got about seven hours of daylight, so we'll get moving. Segraves out."

Segraves stumbled out onto the street with Mickey and Dutch and looked up at where the Phantom was lodged and burning inside of a building. "I think getting the dolly is way out of question, Sergeant." Mickey said as he pulled his M7S off his back. Eric nodded and they began walking down the street in the direction the captain told them. No more than twenty yards down the street, he looked up and spotted his rifle hanging on a street lamp by the stock's gap behind the pistol grip. "They say the Lord works in mysterious ways." He said under his breath as he jumped onto a car and pulled it down. The optics and rifle seemed to be fine, which was a blessings.

The three troopers kept a good pace for about an hour and reached the Metropolis bridge between Old and New Mombassa without encountering any hostiles. They began the hike across the bridge, weaving through the remains of wraiths, banshees and ghosts. At the other side of the white suspension bridge, three dead wraiths laid ominously past the wrecked toll booths. Past the wraith corpses, was a dark tunnel that led to the highways into the city. The three troopers flicked on their visor's night vision and moved into the dark and out of radio contact.


	18. Chapter 18 Too Stubborn

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft. **

**October 23, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**08:45 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72****nd**** Company and 11****th**** ODST**

**Squad 849 and "The Squad"**

**Location: UNSC Marine Outpost 551, Northeast Africa**

**New Mombassa Ruins, Kenya**

**Ruins of Space Elevator**

**Too Stubborn**

The hydraulic jack moved the last piece of rubble away from the Spartan's limp form. Next to her, the Gunny barked for her, Jason, and Rookie to get her from under the piece of concrete. Brandy rushed forward and grabbed the legs while the Rookie and Jason each put an arm through an armpit and began hauling the half-ton weight of armor and flesh from the gap. A strand of her blonde hair slid down into her vision. She blew it out of the way as they set down the hulking form. Almost immediately, the strand swung back into view, as if trying to irritate her on purpose. She took off her helmet and forcibly put the hair back into its place. She looked up to see Jason doing a "deep breath in and out" motion. She nodded. "Rook', get that Spartan's vitals," Master Gunnery Sergeant Buck said as he tossed a small device over to the Rookie then turned to face Brandy. He put his hand up to his helmet and comm'ed the Captain. "Veronica, do we have any sort of update on the other three?" A moment later, Captain Dare sent her response, "No, I haven't seen or heard anything from the Sergeant and your troopers after they entered the highway tunnels on the other side of the bridge. Same situation as an hour ago. I'm sorry, Buck." Brandy put her helmet back on to hide her worry from the others as the Rookie gave Buck two thumbs up for the Spartan's vital signs.

Next to her, Rookie said, "Damn, Gunny, those tunnels would have to be bugger central by now. I don't know how they could make it out of there in one piece, much less across the city." Jason let out a barking laugh that was half nervous and half hopeful. "You've obviously never spent any time with Eric. He's too damn stubborn to not pull some harebrained scheme out of his ass that would get him out. He's got some kind of warped luck that works for him almost always. He'll find a way out for him and the other two, somehow; he's too stubborn to just die when fate dictates it most likely." Buck looked at Jason, then Rookie. "While I have nothing to say to Corporal Broward's claim, I can say one thing: Have some faith, Rookie. You were lost in this city after the drop for eight hours before we ever found you, but I didn't give up on you. And neither did Mickey and Dutch, so have some faith, Lance Corporal." Then he turned to face Brandy. "Corporal, what can _you_ tell me about your Sergeant?" She depolarized her helmet and said, "Well I guess I can begin at the start…"

*\\\\\*/*

**October 22, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**09:21 Hours, Earth Time**

**UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence**

**Section 1: Field Intelligence Division**

**ONI Recon 035**

**Captain Veronica Dare**

**Location: Earth, High Orbit**

**ONI Ship, **_**UNSC Point Of No Return**_

**Dare's desk**

**Watchful Eye**

Captain Veronica Dare was using what satellites that were still left in orbit above the continent to search for the three missing troopers in New Mombassa. She panned infrared cameras, magnetic resonance cameras, full spectrum scanning cameras over the city, but to no avail. She tried to contact the troopers via communication channels, but to no response but static. She asked Buck if he had heard anything, but received a negative from him as well. She ran a hand through her hair as she leaned back for a moment. Immediately, she set back to her task.

Three hours later, she pushed away from her desk and grabbed her headset as she walked to her major's office. Major Ramsey was sitting at his desk, facing away from the door, so she knocked as she stepped in. He rotated in his seat. "Ah, Captain, did you find those troopers of yours?" She grimaced. "Negative, Sir. The four who are still in contact have unearthed that Spartan, but they have no way to lift it out. Could I request a pelican or some sort of exfiltration for them?" The Major picked up the handset for his comm and looked at her. "What time is it?" he asked. She looked at the watch on her wrist. "Uh, 12:30, Sir."

Major Ramsey nodded and began the call for an evac bird. As he was doing that, her headset rang with static, which cleared into a voice, "This is-, to Captain Dare. I repeat, this is Sergeant Segraves to Dare. Please Respond." She put her hand up to her headset and motioned for the major to pause. "Trooper, this is Dare. Where are you?" A moment later, she heard, "Ma'am, we're in the heart of the city… or over what's left of it. We had our communications jammed as we exited the tunnels. Some Covies tried to jump us, but we beat them back. We're all fine. We also picked you a present that doubles as the next best thing to a dolly that we could find. If we could establish video link, I could show you our new friend here." She began to sprint from the office, only pausing to tell the major, "Call off the evac, I found the others." As she hurried back to her desk, she commed the troopers, "Sergeant Segraves, how did you get halfway across the city's ruins in five hours on foot?" There was a pause and a wave of static before his response, "A harebrained scheme that was lucky enough to work." As she sat down, she replied, "Go on, I'm all ears… "


	19. Chapter 19 Harebrained Scheme

**October 23, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**08:30 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72****nd**** Company and 11****th**** ODST**

**Squad 849 and "The Squad"**

**Location: UNSC Marine Outpost 551, Northeast Africa**

**New Mombassa Ruins**

**Five miles from Metropolis Bridge**

**Harebrained Scheme**

The three ODSTs stepped out from the tunnel exit, covered in jackal and bugger guts. "Alright, take a breather, guys. I want full three hundred-sixty security. Check ammo and water." Eric said as his helmet adjusted the polarization as he walked into the daylight. He led them to an overhang formed by the half destroyed building above, and they all took a knee and checked their gear. Eric's backpack had several burned and scorched marks from plasma fire. He reattached the backpack to its magnetic harness on his suit and opened a comm channel to Master Gunnery Sergeant Buck and the captain. "Gunny, Captain, you there? This is Sergeant Segraves, we're out of the tunnels and back into the city. Do you copy?" The only response he received was static. "Mickey, Dutch, try to raise them on your comms, my unit may be acting up." The other two troopers tried, but to no effect. "Damn. Well let's get a move-on, we've got to get as far as we can by nightfall, and it won't be any easier traveling than what we just went through. Groaning, they got up and headed out.

About a mile away, the communication channels were still useless. "Mickey, we're obviously being jammed by something, got any idea what could do that?" The shorter ODST looked up for a second. "Uh, Sarge, either the Covenant are jamming us from orbit or a local jammer is creating a dark zone. It makes more sense to for a local ground jammer than an orbital jam, considering there are still ships in the area. For this large of a spectrum jam, it would probably have to be someplace nearby. But I can see sense in jamming an already conquered city if you were trying to hide something from other Covies." They dodged to the side of the sidewalk as a pack of banshees flew over the buildings around them.

Eric led them around the corner of the street then halted at the sight of a tall purple spire that was pulsating at the top. "Hey Mickey, I think we found a jammer." The PFC ran up next to him and nodded, "Yeah, that looks like one, Sergeant." Dutch walked up to them, "We gonna take it out, Sarge?" Eric shook his head and replied, "Not yet, Dutch, I'm curious as to why this is here. Let's do a bit of snooping around to see what these bastards are hiding from us."

They crept back around the corner cut through the bottom floor of the building next to them. On the other side, was a balcony that opened to a larger large plaza with multiple levels. Opening up the outdated map from the old city superintendent AI, it said that they were at what was left of Kizingo plaza. "This was our rally point after we dropped." Mickey whispered as they kept to the shadows along the eastern wall. "What's that smell? It smells like burning aliens." Dutch said. When they reached the end of the balcony, Eric peered over the railing. Below was a burning pile of disfigured and mutilated bodies, and none human. "Dutch, it looks like you're right about that," he began to say as he spotted a pair of brutes tossing the body of a dead elite onto the fire, "It appears that the brutes are taking out the friendly competition by killing the elites and destroying the evidence." He pointed to a pair of brutes dragging a live elite major into the plaza by the arms. He turned to Mickey and Dutch and said, "I've got an idea. This entire side is still partially shadowed by the sun not being at full rise. We can get down there and take out those brutes quietly. I have a hunch that should work. Follow me, only use suppressed weapons, we don't want to raise a huge alarm." He led them down the stairs, quietly and stepped onto the main plaza floor. He drew his pistol as he took cover behind a planter. Across the walkway, Dutch and Mickey were behind a barrier demolished by plasma fire, M7S's drawn. He peered over the edge of the planter and confirmed five brutes in a ring around the elite. They were beating the alien around the circle. One of the brutes his spiker into the leg of the elite, bringing a howl from the creature that split its four jaws open.

He nodded to the others and simultaneously, they exited cover and opened fire. Two pulls of the trigger and three bursts of suppressed submachine guns, and the five brutes hit the concrete hard. He approached the elite, who was kneeling on one leg, gun aimed at the thing's long reptilian head. "Human," the Sangheili said in almost perfectly pronounced English, facing the ground, "Do not expect me to beg for mercy, or you will receive as much pleading as those Jiralhanae. I will not balk for it." Eric stopped, a foot short of the creature. He raised his gun to the thing's face as it looked up at him and continued. "But, I would welcome it, Human. It is something I have yet to meet on this planet." He lowered the gun a tad. Next to him, Dutch raised his weapon, "I don't trust it. I say put it out of its misery." Eric put a hand up in protest, saying, "No, Dutch. It sounds like it wants to give itself up willingly, which makes this an asset possibly usable by ONI. Mickey, can you get an estimate on the jamming range of that spire?" He turned back to face the alien. "Hey, Split-jaw, you Elit−…Sangheili are an honor-bound race, correct?" The elite nodded slowly as it comprehended the words after a moment. "Good," Eric continued, "then if you do accept the terms of mercy I am willing to give your sorry hide, you will be honor-bound to those terms. Understand that, Squid-head?" The Sangheili raised itself up some on its knees. Even though it was kneeling and grasping it's upper leg, it came nearly up to Eric's neck-line.

On his left, Mickey nudged him a little, "Uh, Sergreant, I'm with Dutch. I say we give it 'mercy' here and now." Eric shook his head as the alien replied, "Name your conditions, human, but spare me your insults. I will weigh my decision against whatever honor I have left." Eric nodded and said, "My conditions are this: by accepting mercy from me, you hence cease and desist all hostilities towards humans and turn yourself over to the UNSC. You will do what we say and answer whatever questions we ask when we bring you back. You will be treated as an intelligence asset and a prisoner of war until such a time that you are returned to your species or are tried for your crimes against humanity. You will be treated as fairly as I can assure you, and will at the very least receive medical treatment for that wound. Do you understand, Sangheili?"

The creature seemed to think this over for a few moments. Eric tightened his grip on his pistol the longer it dragged out the decision. Finally it looked up and nodded, "Human, I accept your terms. But do not expect me to grovel in admiration of you and your kind. From what I have seen over the cycles, your species is as honorable as the Jiralhanae. But, alas, I concede what honor I have to you, human, for it is you who showed mercy, so now I serve you." The Sangheili warrior lowered himself down, to what could be the equivalent of a half bow, before standing up and limping past Eric to the burning pile of corpses. The creature clenched its fists and snapped its jaws together several times before returning to him and the other two troopers.

Even though Eric had lowered his pistol, on either side, Mickey and Dutch still had their M7Ss trained on the alien. The Elite walked up to him and looked down. "Human, I have one request before I turn myself over to your kind's rules: that you will allow me to exact honorable vengeance on these vile, traitorous beasts that have slain my brethren. Will you allow me this so I can regain what honor and dignity that has been lost this day?" Eric nodded but put up a finger. "I will let you kill brutes to regain what you have lost, but only when I say you can. Do we have a deal?" The Sangheili huffed as he nodded. "It is done. Then let us embark, Human." It stepped between Dutch and Mickey as Eric took point and guided the odd group out of the plaza.

From a building overlooking the jamming spire, Mickey and Eric looked out the window at the thing. "When I went through flight school, we were quizzed on covenant structures and their effects on the battlefield. From the look of it, you have a type two jammer. I don't think we've got the ordinance to take that out, but though it does jam all spectrums of communication, it would only have about a twenty mile radius. Though that is a pretty good dark zone, it is a big city, regardless of how much has been glassed to slag. But getting out of range on foot, especially with our eight foot tall baggage, will be pretty hard without some fast transport." Eric nodded and turned around to the inside of the dark room to face the alien who was in the corner half sitting to keep weight off its wounded leg.

There was a spike sticking out of the wound, covered in blood. Most of the wound appeared to be cauterized by the initial heat of the spike, but there was still a steady slow ooze from the entry point. Eric knelt down in front of the thing. "Can you walk, Sangheili?" The alien stood up with a grunt and said, "Do not mock me with such coddling, Human. I am a Sangheili Major Domo, one who is familiar with pain and has lead brothers into battle against not only your species." Eric backed up a step as it brought itself up to full height and heard the click of safeties coming off of sub-machine guns behind him. He looked up at the thing and said, "Well, Major Domo, we have a long way to go through hostile territory and we cannot have you slow us down. You will eventually need to have that leg checked out though. But since you act like you're up to the task, then let's get walking before the brutes follow your blood trail to us." The alien huffed irritably as he moved to the doorway as if waiting for an order to move. It followed Eric out of the building, where Dutch took point and started heading west in the direction of the location of the other troopers, miles away.

Miles later, the group stopped as a group of brutes crossed the road ahead of them. As they ducked into the shadows, Dutch whispered, "I count five lower class apes. Sergeant, do we slot 'em?" Eric peered out around the corner of their cover and shook his head, "Negative, Dutch, let's try to keep this as quiet as possible." Dutch nodded and kept quiet as two brutes split off from the main group and walked down the street in their direction as the main group moved on. The ODSTs and the alien shrank back slightly as the two brutes began walking past. As the two began to move on, one of the brutes stopped and sniffed the air then looked to its partner and barked loudly. Its partner stopped and looked back at the first alien. The first brute then sniffed the air again and began to walk toward them, weapon drawn.

Eric glanced at the brute, then to the wound that the Sangheili next to him had, then back at the brute. He drew his pistol then threw a look over to Mickey and Dutch, who had their weapons drawn. He motioned silently for them to move back farther. The two other troopers nodded back at him. He rotated his gaze to where the Elite had been but saw nothing. As he turned back, the other brute had joined its buddy and both were closing in on them. He cursed to himself silently as he backed up farther into the darkness. The lead brute sniffed the air as it entered the shadows. It growled as he walked right toward Eric. He began to squeeze the trigger on his pistol as one of the shadows moved silently and ripped the brutes head around to an unnatural angle with a crunch and a gurgle. The air seemed to ripple as the shape whipped around and intercept the charging brute that saw its companion die. The two shapes slammed together and the shadow shimmered then crackled into the form of the Sangheili. The berserking brute smashed the elite into the wall and began to wail on its chest. "Troopers, take it down." Eric said as Mickey and Dutch fired their submachine guns into the brute's back until its shield failed and pieces of its armor fell away. Eric then raised his pistol and fired one round into the back of its head. The alien took a moment to drop its arms and then slumped forward onto the Sangheili. The elite threw down the body and wiped the dark blood from its helmet. "Let's get moving before they come and check on these two." Eric said. The Major Domo clicked its jaws in agreement as they began moving further away.

An hour later, the Sangheili said, "Human Sergeant, how did he die?" Eric looked up at the thing, "How did who die?" The elite pointed at the energy sword clipped to his belt and continued, "The Sangheili that sword belonged to. Did he die by your hands or did you thieve his weapon from his body?" Eric unclipped the sword hilt and held it. "The elite I took this from died by me putting this sword though him for attacking one of my best friends. Whether that counts as honorable or not in your eyes I don't know, nor really care. What I do need to know is what to call you, Sanghieli." The elite clicked its jaws several times before answering, "M'tar Vadamee, that is what I am named, Human. You have earned that much from me, at least." Eric glanced over and up at the elite and replied, "I'll try to remember that, M'tar." Overhead a phantom dropship cruised by with a whirring drone. Eric pointed up at it, "Mickey, did that thing look like it was descending?" Mickey nodded, "Sure as hell did, Sergeant. It looked like it was on a landing slope, by my judgement. Sure would speed up our progress a lot." Eric smiled behind his helmet, "My thoughts exactly. Let's get moving!"

He rushed up with the others to the corner of the nearest intersection and was met with an open expanse of a series of landing pads and railways that would have spread out to every part of the city a week ago. "Looks like a spaceport cluster." Dutch observed. He spotted the phantom landing three pads to their left and mentally mapped out how to get to it. He pointed to the gate that opened up directly in front of the pad and said, "Dutch, I want you and Mickey to flank around through that gate and to the pad. I'll provide cover from the empty pad in front of us with my rifle. When you get there, fire a short radio burst to me. Move on the first shot I fire. Got it?" Both Dutch and Mickey nodded and ran off without any questions. He then looked to M'tar, who asked, "Human, what would you have me do?" Eric motioned for him to follow as he slung his rifle and drew his pistol. "We're going to make a diversion so that those two can hijack that dropship, understand, Sangheili?" He said walked down the road toward the empty landing pad directly in front of him.

He stopped at the entrance to the ring of platforms and stations and poked his head inside the open doorway. There was a twenty meter wide covered walkway that went around the ring and lead up to every station and landing pad. To his left, he spotted the landed pad, which was guarded by ten armed brutes. Four brutes were unloading cargo from the ship and taking it off the pad. The walkway itself had about seven brutes of varying rank patrolling around it. He shifted his gaze to his right. About five meters away were two brutes with their backs turned. He stepped inside and dispatched the two aliens with silenced headshots. He motioned for M'tar to follow. The big alien stepped in through the door and clicked his jaws together at the dead brutes. Eric paused to pick up one of the plasma rifles dropped by the brutes upon death. He held it up by the top half and looked at M'tar. "Sangheili," he began, "tell me, should I trust you with this weapon?" The elite bowed his head and put his hand up to his chest, "Human Sergeant, I swear on the blood and honor of my ancestors that I will not harm you or your fellow soldiers. Will that suffice?" Eric sighed and handed the alien the weapon. "That'll have to do. When I get the signal from Dutch, I want you to head down this walkway." M'tar grabbed the plasma rifle and looked down at it, "And do what, human?" Eric tossed M'tar two spike grenades from the dead brutes and stood back up "Regain your honor, Sangheili, that's what."

Five minutes later, Eric was lying prone on an empty landing pad three over from the docked phantom with his rifle propped up on its bipod. His radio rang with three quick chirps, signaling Mickey and Dutch were in position. He looked to his left and at the end of the ramp leading up to the pad, he saw M'tar crouched behind a support beam. He nodded at the alien and motioned for him to move. In one fluid motion, he swung around the corner, grabbed the arm of a brute patrolling by, threw the beast to the floor, snapped its neck and let out a throaty howl, all four jaws splitting apart. The brutes near him spun around and opened fire in the elite's direction, spraying spikes and plasma in wide, inaccurate arcs, forcing M'tar to dive behind cover.

Through his scope, Eric watched the Sangheili turn on its camouflage and vanish from view. He switched his optics to the magnetic resonance imaging and watched the view in his scope go to an odd, layered grayscale. He could make out the locations of every brute in his field of view, regardless of whether they were behind cover or cloaked. He watched his cloaked ally slide behind the brutes, who were still firing at where he had been, and slap two spike grenades onto the backs of two brutes. The ghostly outline of the elite hopped behind a girder as the grenades detonated, sending flaming flechettes out in devastating radii, which killed most of the surrounding brutes. While M'tar mopped up surviving brutes, Eric shifted his aim to the brutes rushing toward the elite from the landing pad. He squeezed off two rounds in quick succession, taking out two aggressors and forcing the others to take cover. As one of the brutes poked its head above cover to see where the fire was coming from, he blew it off. Behind the brutes, the gate opening up to the walkways opened and two other troopers stepped out, guns blazing. The remaining brutes in front of the two were cut down and Mickey hopped up into the Phantom.

A few seconds later, Mickey called over the radio, "All clear in here! Sergeant, I'll swing around to pick you up once I get off the ground!" Eric raised his hand to his helmet and replied, "Roger that, Mickey. Dutch, get that elite on the phantom ASAP. I want you up there to keep an eye on it." He watched from a distance as Dutch walked M'tar to the gravity lift and headed up the lift after the alien. "Sergeant, the alien is secure. We're gonna pick you up then get the hell out of here!"

Eric looked to the edge of the pad he was on and saw a poorly thrown plasma grenade blow off one of the support beams holding up the platform. The pad lurched to one side and began to break away from the other beams. "Sergeant, get off there, it's gonna break away!" Dutch yelled into his ear. Eric slung his rifle and began sprinting back toward the walkways. The landing pad began to tilt further and further away from the walkways as he ran. He saw brutes run up the walkways in his peripheral vision. He pushed himself harder, feeling his legs burn as he sped up even more. He felt the platform give one final lurch and fall away from beneath him as he jumped toward the walkway in front of him. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he flew forward through a storm of white-hot spikes, right arm outstretched in hope of grasping the walkway.

As he nearly reached the walkway in front of him, a spike hit his shoulder pauldron and spun him off course. He slammed into the side of the wall and bounced off with a grunt. As he fell down, he reached his left arm out to grab a passing catwalk. His hand grasped one of the cable clusters on the bottom edge of the catwalk and held as strong as he could. His fall came to an abrupt stop. He winced as he felt his left shoulder pop out of the joint. He let out a scream as he swung on the dislocated joint to bring his right arm up to grab the cables and haul himself up onto the catwalk. He rolled onto his back and lay there for a moment. He raised his right hand to his helmet. "Mickey, I'm heading to one of the lower platforms, meet me down one deck below." He stood up and trudged down the catwalk to the next level of walkways, holding his left arm. "Roger that, Sergeant, don't take too long, it is a tight fit down there."

Once Eric neared a wall, he pushed up his left shoulder and moved to slam his shoulder back into place, but turned his gaze to the right and grimaced as he saw a brute major charging up to him. Before he could draw a weapon, the Jiralhanae grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up off his feet. The brute began to squeeze its hand around his neck, growling something close to a chuckle. The edges of his vision began to blur and turn red as he squirmed in the huge alien's grasp, grabbing at the thing's hand. The brute then threw him to the other side of the walkway. His rifle flew from his back as he whizzed through the air. He slammed into the reinforced window, cracking the collision-proof glass. As he hit the floor, gasping for air, he looked up at the brute who kicked his rifle aside as it walked up. Eric reached to his belt with his right hand and grabbed the silver hilt from its makeshift holster. As the brute stopped to pick him up again, he thumbed the activation stud and brought the white plasma blades up as hard as he could into the brute. The brute fell back in two pieces, almost perfectly bisected from waist to torso, armor falling away with plasma vapor venting out.

Eric stumbled to his feet and slung his rifle and ran out of the door to the open landing pad outside. Outside there were five brutes that turned around at the sound of the door opening. Behind them, the phantom dropped down level to the platform, door hatch open. Dutch opened fire with the turret as Eric ran up, sword activated. He cut the arm off one of the brutes who charged him and swung out of the way of Dutch's fire, which took out one of the other brutes. He crouched behind a crate as Dutch gunned down the remaining brutes. Behind him, the door opened and more aliens hopped onto the pad. He rolled over crate to the other side, putting it between him and the hostiles. He thumbed off the sword and put it back into the holster as he rushed for the open side of the phantom, holding his left arm as he ran. As he jumped into the phantom he was hit with a plasma bolt square in the back, which sent him sprawling into the troop bay.

As he hit the floor of the troop bay, Dutch yelled to Mickey to raise the door and ascend. Eric's stomach fluttered as the phantom rose rapidly out of the docking areas. "I'm hit!" he called as he felt the burn on his back. Dutch rushed over and took off his helmet. Dutch pulled his rifle from his back and looked at the hit. "You're good, it didn't burn through, only boiled a few layers of the armor coating off. It'll probably hurt like hell, but you'll be fine, only a burn. Your weapon's fine too. I'd be worried about that arm. You break it?" Eric groaned as he flipped over and sat up. "It's dislocated. I'm pretty sure." Dutch popped off his left shoulder pauldron and moved the shoulder around a bit. "Yep, it's dislocated. You ready, this is gonna hurt some." Eric nodded, "It can't be any worse than getting shot." Dutch lined the ball of the shoulder up with the cup joint then slammed the two together hard. Eric yelled and pounded the floor with his right arm as the joint popped back together painfully. Dutch helped him up on his feet, saying, "That should do it until we get to a trained medic, Sergeant." Eric nodded, "Thank you, Dutch. How's our passenger been?" Dutch motioned to M'tar and said, "He's been docile. Big guy hasn't said a word."

Eric strode up to the cockpit, were Mickey was working over a dashboard of purple readouts beneath a viewscreen of what was in front of them. "How're we doing, Mickey?" Without looking back, Mickey responded, "Heading to the last coordinates of the Gunny and your squad, Sergeant. We should be out of the dark zone in about five minutes." Eric nodded and went back to the troop bay and over to M'tar, who was standing in the back.

"I have a few questions for you, M'tar. You care to answer them?" The Elite looked down and answered, "Very well, Human Sergeant. What would you have me say?" Eric eyed the creature for a moment before responding, "First and foremost, how do you speak my language so well. From my experience that is unusual for some humans, much less an alien." M'tar huffed. "Human, it was my position in the Covenant to decipher your communications on the battlefield for my Major Domo for many cycles. I became very adept at it and was promoted to Major Domo myself. Your language, English I believe it is called, is a very difficult language to pronounce if you must know."

Eric paused for a moment before continuing with the interrogation. "Alright, then why did you surrender to us. No elit−, I mean Sangheili has ever allowed himself to be taken by humans before. What made you give up?" This time the elite paused before answering. "I gave myself over to your charge because someone must tell the High Council of what the Jiralhanae have done. This is all I will tell you for not, Human Sergeant." Eric nodded "Fair enough. I will tell you that there is a high probability that you will not ever be returned to your Covenant. So in the meantime, just behave." He sat down across from Dutch, took his helmet off, and let his head fall back against the hull of the bay.

About a minute later, his helmet fizzled and crackled audibly and then rebooted. He stood up and keyed open his wide-band comms. "Mickey, where are we in relation to the others?" He peered around the cockpit wall as Mickey responded, "Uh, about fifteen minutes from their last position. I believe I just got communications back, but we are still a few minutes out of squad-comm range, Sergeant." Eric donned his helmet and opened up a communications line with Captain Dare. There were a few minutes of silence before the line was connected. Once it was strong enough, he began broadcasting, "This is Sergeant Segraves, to Captain Dare. I repeat, this is Sergeant Segraves to Dare. Please Respond." A moment later there was the response, "Trooper, this is Dare. Where are you?" He sighed to himself and replied, "Ma'am, we are in the heart of the city, or over rather over it. We had our communications jammed as we exited the tunnels. Some Covies tried to jump us, but we beat them back. We're all fine. We also picked you a present that doubles as the next best thing to a dolly that we could find. If we could establish video link, I could show you our new friend here." He was told to wait. About a minute later, Dare returned and said, "Sergeant Segraves, how did you get halfway across the city's ruins in five hours on foot?" He smiled to himself as he moved to the back of the troop bay, looked at M'tar, and said, "A harebrained scheme that was lucky enough to work."


	20. Chapter 20 Pickup Artist

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft. **

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**Plus check out the new blog that will keep up with the status of many of the things I write at **

**October 23, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**12:37 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72****nd**** Company and 11****th**** ODST**

**Squad 849 and "The Squad"**

**Location: Northeast Africa**

**New Mombassa Ruins, Kenya**

**Ruins of Space Elevator**

**Pickup Artist**

Master Gunnery Sergeant Buck raised his hand to call in to Dare for what seemed like the hundredth time. Hell it could be the thousandth radio call that day, he didn't care as long as she had information on the other ODSTs out in the rubble of the city. "Buck to Veronica, do you have anything for me, Captain?" A moment passed before she responded, "Actually, Buck, I do have something this time. And this time you'll like the news I've got. Sergeant Segraves and your boys are alive and in transit to your location. They are in a new phantom and now have a Tier One asset inbound to your position. They should be coming into communications range within five minutes. How do you copy, Buck?"

He let out a sigh of relief. "Roger that, Veronica. Buck out. We'll get the coffee warmed up." He looked up at Rookie who had climbed his way up the rubble to the south and set up a watch point. "Rook, keep an eye out for a phantom approaching. It may be carrying friendlies." Rookie nodded and gave him the thumbs up as he set up a motion sensor.

To Buck's left, Corporal Halverson looked up from checking the vitals on the Spartan. "What's the word, Gunny?" Buck turned on his heel to face her. "We've got good news, Corporal. The Sergeant and Mickey and Dutch are fine. They've got transport and are en route to pick us up and get out of here. How's our Spartan doing?" Halverson looked at the datapad in her hand and shrugged. "She took a blow to the head, which has had her knocked out, but her suit reads out that it went into lock mode and that her vitals are stabilized. I can't tell you much else unless we pop off her helmet, which is not recommended." He nodded and looked up at Rookie who whispered over the comm, "Gunny, we have a pack of brutes searching the lower part of the ruins to the south."

Buck switched his radio to SquadComm and replied, "Roger that. Corporal Broward, Rookie has a patrol of brutes to the south, how is it on your side?" Broward had set up a look out to the north, opposite of Rookie. Broward radioed in, "Uh, I've got two patrols of brute minors and majors combing through the rubble to the north and northeast. They're slowly picking their way toward us. I'd guess five to ten minutes tops before they cross us, Gunny." Buck swore under his breath before responding, "Gotcha. Damn, you two keep eyes on those hostiles, but stay out of sight."

Two minutes later, his helmet rang with a hail from the sergeant, "Gunny, are you receiving me. This is Sergeant Segraves, over." He raised his hand back to his helmet and responded, "Roger, Sergeant, I am hearing you. How far out are you from our position?"

"About ten minutes out, Gunny. How's our patient doing?"

"Corporal Halverson says green across the board, just unconscious. But there's bad news. We're in the path of a several brute search parties. How copy?"

"Good copy, Gunny. Sounds like it may be a hot exfil?"

"Roger. You may want to be dropping in, guns blazing."

"I think we can do that, Sergeant Segraves out."

Buck looked over at Corporal Halverson and said, "Get her prepped to go. It's probably gonna be a hairy extraction."

Seven minutes later, Sergeant Segraves radioed in, "Gunny, we're about three miles out, can you guys see us? We're due west of your position." Buck looked up to Corporal Broward, who gave him the thumbs up. "Roger that, Sergeant. It'll be tight, we've got brutes closing in and if we can see you, then they can probably see you too. Tell Mickey to make it quick."

Forty five seconds later, the thrumming of the phantom's engines could be heard coming closer. The phantom pulled up over their position in a valley in the rubble and stopped. As it hovered, it's gravity lift came to life and Segraves dropped down to the ground. "Everybody, keep your fingers off the trigger and don't shoot. Alright, Dutch, Send him down!" He motioned for Buck and Halverson to back up as a Covenant Elite dropped out of the gravity lift and to the ground with a thump as it landed on its feet. The thing stood about eight feet tall and was wearing crimson armor all over, except its left thigh, which was wrapped in what looked like a field dressing. Instinctively, Buck whipped his assault rifle up to bear. Beside him, Halverson brought up her SMG.

Segraves put his hands up in protest, saying, "Don't shoot! Where's the Spartan?" Halverson nodded her head back to her left, without taking her aim from the Sangheili. Behind Segraves, Corporal Broward jumped down from his perch, saying, "Those brutes are getting pretty close Gunn— Oh, crap!" as he saw the elite and raised his weapon. Segraves motioned him to lower his weapon then looked at the alien and pointed behind Halverson, "Come on, it's over there. Let's go." The elite loped over to Halverson, favoring its left leg, and looked down at the unconscious Spartan, only to recoil back. "Demon," it exclaimed at the sight of the supersoldier on the ground. It looked back at Segraves in protest, who just replied, "Trust me, I won't tell anyone. Your honor is fine." It looked between the sergeant and the Spartan then finally huffed and scooped up the half ton of soldier from the ground.

Rookie called in as the elite began carrying the Spartan back toward the gravity lift, "Gunny, those brutes are rushing up to us pretty quick now." Buck pointed to Halverson, "Get on one of those door guns in the phantom." She ran off past the Sangheili and up the lift with a "Roger." Once she was up, the doors dropped down and both she and Dutch began opening up with the plasma cannons. "Rook," Buck began, "Get down here, double time. We're getting the hell out of here!" He turned to Segraves and asked, "Just how do you pull this crap off so well, Sergeant?" The sergeant laughed as he depolarized his visor and smiled. "Not quite sure, Gunny. I guess I'm just lucky."

*\\\\\*/*

Once both squads were in the sky, Captain Dare gave them encrypted coordinates for the _UNSC Point of No Return_ and the phantom banked up and out of the atmosphere. She was following their comm feeds and position as they exited orbit. PFC Crespo was definitely a skilled pilot, she noted as the dropship navigated though the orbital graveyard of both UNSC and Covenant ships. He may have a rich future after the war, whether it be in the Marines or in the commercial sector. That was if humanity survived.

As she tracked them, she pulled up as much intel she could find on Squad 849 and began skimming through it. What she found was interesting. It was rare for three best friends who enlisted together to wind up in the same battalion, much less the same squad two times over. Odd enough was that a full blown colonel was still serving on the front with a squad after thirty years and not behind a desk commanding a whole battalion. Most of the squad's actions prior to the three corporals were heavily censored, even for an ONI captain's clearance.

Once the phantom exited the graveyard, they agreed upon comm silence for the rest of the journey, to minimize the chance of discovery. She kept tabs on them as they entered open space. They would be a small, insignificant target compared to the rest of the fighting going on around them. She turned her attention back to the records for 849 and began picking through them again.

About thirty minutes later, radio silence was broken by a call from Buck. "Veronica, we may have a big problem. A Covie cruiser exited from slipspace and is moving to pick us up. They are hailing us as we speak." She looked up from the dossier she was reading and the pen she had between her lips dropped to the desk. There was a cruiser class ship right on top of them. There were no friendly ships in the area to assist them. They were sitting ducks and there was nothing she could do.

*\\\\*/*

"Mickey, get us out of here!" Buck yelled to the cockpit as Eric put his helmet back on and checked his weapons. "There's nothing I can do, Gunny! They just slaved the controls onto a docking path because we were not responding," Mickey yelled back from the cockpit.

Eric turned to the others, "Lock and load, this is gonna get interesting." M'tar nodded at him and said, "Human Sergeant, what is the name of the ship pulling us in?" He looked over his shoulder and called behind him, "Hey, Mickey, what's the name of the cruiser?" A moment later the response came, "Uh, _Dissolute Justification_. Why?" He looked back and replied, "Because I want it in my obituary. That's why."

M'tar stepped forward and said, "Human, I may have a way to render assistance. The _Dissolute Justification_ is mastered by one of my cousins. He and I were close as broodlings." Eric nodded, then turned to Buck, "Gunny, do you want to give it a shot? May save our skin, may not. But if we do nothing, we're still going to be screwed." Buck shrugged, "Let's give it a shot. Rookie, take the alien up to the cockpit and sit him down with Mickey. If he tries anything, slot him." Rookie nodded and escorted the Sangheili up into the cockpit. Across the troop bay from Eric, Buck flicked the safety off of his MA5C and said, "Well I'm not going out without my barrel shoved down some alien's throat, if I can help it."

Eric nodded in response as the clamps inside the cruiser's hangar locked down onto the phantom's hull, sending vibrations throughout the vessel. "Roger that Gunny. Alright, everybody, on your feet and weapons in your hands. If Any hinge-heads come knocking, then let's show them to hell's doorstep. Oorah?" Around him the other troopers returned hooted their response. Across from him, he could hear Buck say "oorah" back quietly as the cruiser's gravity field took hold of the dropship's interior. He put his rifle up to his shoulder, ready for whatever would happen next.


	21. Chapter 21 Grounded

**I don't own Halo, Bungie does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft. **

**Also, if you feel compelled, I have opened up a twitter account for my FanFiction stuff. E_J_C_Graves**

**Plus check out the new blog that will keep up with the status of many of the things I write at **

**October 23, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**15:58 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**72****nd**** Company and 11****th**** ODST**

**Squad 849 and "The Squad"**

**Location: Sol System**

**Luna Quadrant, Earth Space**

**Covenant Cruiser **_**Dissolute Justification**_

**Grounded**

"Veronica, is there anything you can possibly do from there?" Buck asked from across the cabin. Captain Dare's response rang in Eric's ear, "Negative, Buck. There are no friendlies in the area, but we are trying to divert whatever I can to your position. I'm sorry."

He could hear the _worting _of M'tar in the cockpit as he was supposedly trying to negotiate a stand-down on the other side of the troop doors. His volume was getting progressively lower as the conversation went on. Eric shifted his grip on his rifle as he contemplated whether it was a good or bad thing.

The tension was palpable as the soldiers in the cabin shifted quietly in anticipation and anxiousness. A scaly hand tapped his shoulder pauldron from behind. He half turned to face M'tar, who said, "Human Sergeant, I have spoken with my relative, the Shipmaster. He has agreed to a trade." Buck walked up behind the alien and spun him around, saying, "And what sort of trade would that be?"

M'tar looked between the Eric and Buck for a moment, then replied, "A trade that would save your lives, Human. But you must open the doors and hide the demon that is on board, the shipmaster was clear he would open fire if this ship was deemed a threat to his crew."

"And why should we trust you on this?" Buck stepped forward, less than a foot from the thing. "Why would you do anything to help humanity?"

The Sangheili looked him straight in the face and said, "The Jiralhanae your sergeant and soldiers seized me from were not slaughtering the Sangheili in your city for rivalry's sake, but instead by order of the Prophets. The Great Schism is at hand, and my kind does not even know. Believe me or not, Human, but if the Sangheili are gone, then your kind stands no chance against the armies of High Charity. But if my kind goes to arms against the other races of the Covenant, then both our kinds stand a chance for survival. That is why, Human. Not for your benefit and pleasure, but for the survival of my species."

Eric watched Buck nod slowly, then turn to Dutch and Rookie. "Get her hidden," he said as he pointed at the Spartan. When the two troopers pulled her back from sight, Buck then palm the door control. The troop bay doors lowered with a _Clunk. _Outside the dropship were rows of armed Elites and Grunts, and a pair of Hunters, whose weapons were as raised. Between the Hunter pair was a Zealot class Elite in gold armor. There was a moment of silence as both sides waited for the other to make the first move.

The shipmaster made the first motion as he barked something to the hunter pair, who lowered their assault cannons mounted to their arms. Immediately afterward, the rest of the troops in the hangar lowered their weapons as the zealot took a step forward.

Beside Eric, M'tar took a walked to the edge of the troop bay and looked over at him. "Human Sergeant, I have convinced him to let your soldiers leave as if this never occurred. I pray that if we meet again, that it will not be as foes, for you have shown honor when not expected. Fight skillfully and honorably with that blade, make its past owner dignified in its use. Walk the Path, wherever it may lead you, Human." With that, M'tar hopped down to the deck of the hangar bay and loped up to the shipmaster, who nodded at M'tar and motioned to an alien on an upper deck. The clamps around the phantom were released and the dropship's antigravity drives settled it into an easy hover five feet above the deck.

Buck hit the door controls and turned to yell into the cockpit, "Mickey, let's get out of here while we still can!" The doors sealed shut and Eric felt the floor rumble as the drives propelled it out of the hangar and back into space. Once they were well clear of the cruiser and sure there were no tails chasing them down, the troopers in the bay relaxed.

"Shit, that could have ended much worse." Jason said as he removed his helmet and set it on the floor. Eric set his rifle down as Buck retorted, "Could have ended better, Corporal. ONI is going to be furious that we lost an asset and have nothing to show for it. Though surviving with our lives intact is better than being dead."

Eric took off his helmet and nodded at Buck, "Gunny, I wouldn't say we have nothing. We still have helmet cameras and a lot of footage for them to go through. Plus we still have the Spartan in one piece. It wasn't an entirely wasted venture." Buck smiled as he sat down on the floor. "Sergeant, I like how you think."

Eric glanced to the back of the troop bay as he noticed the flickering of lights in his peripheral vision. The Spartan was coming to. She rolled over onto her hands and knees and made a sudden, jerking motion toward the ground with her entire body. Quickly, her left hand went to her helmet and ripped it off. He rushed over with the others. As her helmet came off, vomit spilled out from it and slopped onto the deck. She continued retching onto the floor for about fifteen seconds. Immediately after wiping her mouth with the back of her gauntlet, she snapped to her feet and grabbed her helmet. "Where am I?" she said.

Beside Eric, Rookie let out a soft laugh and said, "Back with the living."

*\\\\\*/*

Before the phantom a large, black UNSC cruiser materialized out of space. Eric's jaw went slack as he realized the size of the prowler named _Point of No Return. _This was easily five times the size of the largest ONI prowler he'd heard of. Behind him someone whistled loudly. Sitting in one of the oversized seats meant for an alien much bigger than him, Mickey raised his hand to his helmet and called back, "I am receiving, _Point of No Return. _Guide us in."

Eric turned around and tapped Dutch on the shoulder, who moved aside, as he walked back to the troop bay. There Brandy was keeping an eye on the Spartan, who was wiping the puke from the inside of her helmet with a towel she had pulled from a hard case on her left thigh armor. "How's she doing?" he asked Brandy on a private comm channel.

She shrugged. "Hasn't said much. Only person she's spoken to is Jason. Even then, she hasn't said much. You'd think she'd be more comfortable with other soldiers." He stepped forward and glanced back at her and said, "Maybe she is fully aware of the hatred between helljumpers and Spartans and is doing her best to not piss off the Gunny. Technically he is a higher rank than her by Marine Corps standards." She gave a hair of a nod back.

He stepped up to Jason and the Spartan and held out his hand. "Petty Officer," he began with a nod as she took his hand, "how's the stomach?" The Spartan's had was much larger than his, but the handshake was not as bone-crushing as he first expected. A smile crept across her pale face. "Better now that it's all out, Segeant. Corporal Broward was telling me of all the trouble you ODSTs went through to bet me out of Africa. Thank you." Eric glanced at Jason and then back to the smiling Spartan before him. The two looked a lot alike, except the fact that Maria had about a half a foot of height and at least fifteen, maybe twenty years on him. He filed that in the back part of his mind before continuing the conversation. "It was a day that we worked hard for our pay. Glad to see you made it." He let go of her hand and looked over at Jason. "You seen this ship we're docking with yet? Biggest prowler I've seen or heard of."

Jason nodded at the Spartan and walked up to the cockpit. Eric turned back to Spartan 062 and said, "I'm not going to be an dick about it, Petty Officer, but it was a pain in the ass to get you out of that city. We almost died several times trying to get you. I thought all Spartans were either killed at Reach or on the other side of the planet. What's your story? How did you wind up in that city?"

The Spartan straightened up a minute amount and dropped the smile. "I was injured shortly before the Battle of Reach and was pulled from active combat as a result. I served ONI on temporary assignment. Officially I had retired from service. When I healed up, I 'came out of retirement' and tested out the newest MJOLNIR armor, which I'm currently wearing, at Seongnam, Korea. Shortly after that, the Covenant arrived at Earth and I opted to go to New Mombassa to fight the Covies on the ground. What I was sent to do is classified, along with most of what I've told you. Does that make it worth you risking the lives of your squad to get me? Are we on the same page?"

Eric nodded and took his helmet off. "Yeah, the bad blood's been spilled. We're good now. I wanted to know where you stood about us ODSTs. Good to meet you, Spartan, I'm Sergeant Eric Segraves."

The Spartan relaxed a tad and the smile came back. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sergeant. I'm Maria 062. Thanks for picking me up down there. Sorry I couldn't awake for the withdrawal. I would have killed to see the look on that split-jaw's face when he was told to carry a 'demon.' I owe you troopers."

Behind him, Buck walked into the bay and called, "Pack it up, we're docking in half a minute." Eric smiled and patted the Spartan on the shoulder, which was just about at his chin height. He walked over and picked up his rifle, checking the safety and letting it flip over upside down as he gripped the bottom hand-guard.

Once the dropship entered the docking bay of the _Point of No Return, _the doors on each side flipped down. Once it set down on its antigravity drives and lowered itself to rest on its chin gun and back fins, the troopers hopped down onto the solid metal of the deck. Behind them the Spartan thudded to the deck. Around them, men in different uniforms, some technicians, others mechanics, some officers rushed around the hangar on various tasks.

Out of the crowds, a blonde woman in a black ONI officer uniform walked up to them fast, holding a datapad in her left hand. Her nametag said Dare and the rank of captain. From the look of it, she was sleep deprived and did not look pleased. She stopped before Buck and said, "Buck, it's good to see you made it. You troopers need to follow me to the debriefing. Spartan, you are to report to deck 5B Room 881." She turned around and began walking off toward the back of the hangar. Eric followed her with the rest of the team out of the hangar, down a corridor, and to an elevator. Maria continued walking down the corridor and gave his team a nod farewell as she passed. Once everyone was in the elevator, Dutch asked, "So, Captain, ONI has you at a desk now?" Dare looked over at him and smiled, "Yeah, I'm between jobs at the moment." When the elevator reached the correct floor it opened and Dare exited. "This way, it's not too far." About thirty seconds later, she turned left into a large conference room. She pointed into the room, "Take a seat troopers and wait for Major Ramsey and Admiral Parangosky."

Eric and the rest of the troopers took a seat in the tables. He leaned his rifle against the table as he took off his helmet. On his left, Jason sat down and dropped his pack on the floor. On his right, Buck sat down and popped off his bucket as well. Across from him, Mickey said, "Wow, a full blown admiral! Guess we're getting the special treatment!"

Beside him Buck ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. "Yeah, but it's Admiral Parangosky, the Director of ONI: the very type of special treatment that could end our careers… or worse. Keep a lid on what you say to her. From what I've heard she's the person you do not want to cross." Mickey's smile disappeared at that statement as the door's clicked open.

"Admiral on deck!" Dare called as everyone stood up to attention and saluted. Through the doors walked in a short, elderly woman who was using the aid of a cane. The woman returned the salute and replied, "At ease troopers." She turned to her left and nodded as a tall, lanky man with ginger hair walked in.

The man who walked in, Major Ramsey started the debriefing, "Troopers, it's good to see you came back in one piece. Now, let's get into this. The Spartan is being put through diagnostics and her own debriefing, you all saved her life. Now, according to Captain Dare, when three of you were separated, you picked up an asset that is no longer with us. Care to explain, Master Gunnery Sergeant?"

Buck straightened slightly and responded, "The asset, a Sangheili Major, was lost to Covenant forces when our ship was intercepted by a Covenant Cruiser, Sir. Upon seizing him, we were released by the interceptors. Sergeant Segraves captured as much as he could on his helmet camera, Sir."

Major Ramsey looked over at Eric and said, "Is this correct, Sergeant?" Eric nodded as he pulled the chip from the back of his helmet and offered it to the Major. "Yes, Sir, this should have all the recording information from the past forty-eight hours. That should include what was recorded through my rifle's scope." Ramsey took the chip and inserted it into a slot on the conference table. The table's top cleared to display his helmet camera view from the operation start. When the video began to play, Admiral Parangosky cleared her throat and said, "Major, I believe our technicians can dig through that on their own. In the meantime, these troopers would maybe like a moment to sit down and relax in comfort for a bit. They already know what is on the video. In the meantime, I will take my leave." As she reached the door, she turned and said, "Troopers, keep up the good work. ONI will be watching."

Major Ramsey straightened up and replied, "Certainly, Ma'am. Captain, take this chip to IS and get it processed ASAP. Gunny, you and your men are dismissed. Sergeant Segraves, I would like a word with you. Your squad is free to go." Dare grabbed the chip and filed out after the admiral with Buck, Mickey, Dutch, Brandy and Jason.

Once the door slid closed, Major Ramsey looked over at the him. "Sergeant, in your own words describe for me what happened on that Covenant ship." Eric cleared his throat, "The Sangheili, M'tar Vadamee traded his captivity for our freedom. Simple as that, Sir. I have no idea what would have caused it to do that." Ramsey nodded and replied with a smile, "Fair enough, Sergeant. Your father would be pleased to see you now, I bet."

A chill went up Eric's spine, "I wouldn't know, Sir. I haven't seen or heard from my parents since I joined the Corps and was transferred off Earth to defend the outer colonies. They didn't even show up to my graduation from ODST training. May I ask why you brought them up, Sir?"

Ramsey took a seat and kept smiling. "Your father and I served as Corpsmen before the Covies showed up. Back when we were young men fighting Innies. We were attached to the same Marine unit during the Insurrection. He took a bullet to the leg for me during one of our deployments. He must not have ever told you. When you joined the Corps, your father asked me to find any information on you I could. So I have scanned through all the casualty reports that have come in from the last three years for all three of you by his request. Then all of a sudden, you and your friends are all three ODSTs and seemingly breezing through ranks. So I can say that it is a pleasure to finally see the person I have been keeping tabs on for the past three years alive and well. Oh, your squad will departing for Afghanistan as soon as that data from your helmet camera is copied. I wouldn't want to keep you three from some rest. The temporary quarters for your squad is on deck 3F Room 82."

Eric nodded and said, "Thank you, Sir. My father never mentioned you before. May I ask where my squad needs to go to meet up with the 72nd? The Earth is nowhere yet won."

Major Ramsey's smile disappeared instantly. "No one has told you, Sergeant? There are no survivors from the Seventy-second Expeditionary. You three are all that is left. Your squad is to be transferred and dissolved into the 2nd ODST Battalion. I was under the impression that you were aware of this when you were sent back into New Mombassa. I am sorry, Sergeant."

The news hit him like a shotgun to the chest. "Understood, Sir. Will we be leaving by shuttle?" Ramsey stood up and said, "Yes, a shuttle will take you and your squad back to earth where you will meet with your new unit. You are all dismissed. Captain Dare will return your data chip to you once it is processed. Once again, my condolences."

Eric stood up and grabbed his belongings as he headed out silently. Outside, Jason and Brandy were waiting for him. "Did he mention your parents as we walked out?" He nodded. "We have new orders. Once my helmet footage is done, we're off to Afghanistan." He began walking down the hall to the temporary quarters. From behind him, Brandy said, "It'll be good to link back up with the rest of the 72nd." He stopped in his tracks. She bumped into him he stopped so fast. "What's wrong?"

He turned around and sighed. "We won't be linking up with our old unit in Afghanistan. We're being dissolved into the 2nd ODST. As of now, there is no 72nd ODST."

Brandy looked dumbfounded. Jason took off his helmet. "Eric, What do you mean there is no 72nd?" Eric sighed again and said, "There are no other surviving members of the 72nd. We're all that's left."

Jason put his hands on top of his head and turned around exhaling slowly. "No," Brandy started, "there has to be some sort of mistake. There's no way that all two hundred ODSTs were killed. It just can't be."

Eric straightened up and said, "Regardless of casualties, we have our orders. We're ODSTs, and we never turn down orders or missions. So snap out of it." He picked up his things and put on his helmet, to hide his face of shock. He walked off with his squad behind him in silence, mulling over the fact that he was one of three that were left alive.


	22. Chapter 22 New Faces In Town

**I don't own Halo, Microsoft does. I only own the characters, excluding those mentioned in any game, book or comic copyrighted by Bungie or 343 Industries or Microsoft. **

**Plus check out the new blog that will keep up with the status of many of the things I write at **

**October 26, 2552 (Military Calendar)**

**23:47 Hours, Earth Time**

**Orbital Drop Shock Troopers**

**2****nd**** ODST Battalion**

**Location: Kabul, Afghanistan**

**Descending through Atmosphere**

**New Faces in Town**

Eric felt the jarring vibrations of the re-entry into Earth's atmoshphere in his teeth as the pelican plummeted down out of space. Their Longsword escorts had broken off when they had been engaged by Truth's fleet and the dropship had to make the rest of the journey solo. From his seat in the "blood tray" of the pelican, he could see the heat forming around the nose of the craft as the pilots took the fastest route down to Kabul, the capitol megacity of the Afghanistan Nation.

He gripped the handles of his fold-down restraint tighter as the pelican entered into atmosphere and hit turbulence. He looked across to Jason, who was doing the same. "Taking the quick route, eh?" he said in the roaring silence. Jason just nodded in response. Eric turned his gaze to the stack of supply crates strapped down in the middle of the troop deck. The cases were jostling against their restraints harder as the pelican descended into the stormy sky above Kabul.

From the cockpit one of the pilots shouted back, "ETA, five minutes from the hospital! Hold on, it's gonna get a rougher as we pass down through the storm!"

"Roger that!" Eric called back as he was again jostled by the craft hitting turbulence. About a minute later, a particularly violent jerk hit the pelican. His head was slammed against the headrest behind him hard. He heard a _ping_ of metal snapping and looked down to see a crate of ammunition sliding towards him alarmingly fast. He raised up both of his legs and caught the crate before it slammed into him. "Cheap Titan steel clamps." He muttered as he kicked the crate back into position. He rode the rest of the trip in silence, keeping an eye on the loose box the entire time.

As they touched down, he nodded to Jason and Brandy. In unison with them, he unbuckled himself and raised the restraint bar up and over his head. As he stood up, he pulled his rifle and pack from the webbing attached to the roof of the troop bay. He slung his rifle on his back as the door folded down and the sounds and rain of the storming city came in.

At the bottom of the ramp there were four ODSTs in armor, waiting. He stopped at the bottom of the ramp and saluted the closest trooper, whose armor designated him a Lieutenant. "Sergeant Eric Segraves reporting for duty, sir. I have Corporals Jason Broward and Brandy Halverson with me as well. I was told that you were to receive our official transfer orders while we were on route to here."

The Lieutenant returned the salute and replied, "You would be correct Sergeant, I received multiple orders from ONI while you were on your way." He gestured toward himself and to the Sergeant First Class to his right, saying, "I am Lieutenant Pyle and this is Sergeant First Class Silverdan. We will be directly over you three. ONI had nothing but praise to say about you three. While I have no physical proof that you are the "dream team" that ONI Captain claimed, the fact that you are the three survivors from an entire division tells me that you're survivors. And that's good enough for me. Sergeant, ONI said you were a trained sharpshooter and that you corporals are CQB trained. Is this correct?"

"Yes, Sir." Eric said in unison with Brandy and Jason. Lieutenant Pyle nodded and walked up to the Corporals. Eric watched out of the corner of his eye as rain pounded down onto his armor. Pyle stopped in front of them and straightened his posture. "ONI was adamant that I do this, and I have no reason to disagree with them. You two have both proven yourselves time again through combat according to all records. You are more than qualified for promotion in my eyes, since you survived New Mombassa twice. Corporals, my platoon is short on NCO's and you two have more experience than those under my command. I hereby exercise my right to promote any soldier to a position of higher rank on the battlefield in a time of need. Congratulations, Sergeants."

A smirk spread across Eric's face as Jason and Brandy straightened up and saluted the Lieutenant, who returned the gesture. "Yes, Sir!" they said. The Lieutenant lowered his arm and turned to the Sergeant First Class. "SFC, show them to their new squads." Before he walked into the entrance of the high rise building, he turned to the two other troopers and said, "Privates, get those supplies off those birds ASAP. They've got someplace to be."

Eric turned his attention to Sergeant First Class Silverdan, who was walking up to them. "Sergeants, follow me. We've got a lot to discuss." He fell into step behind the SFC as they entered the building from the landing pad. The interior of the hospital was surprisingly clean, given the amount of people packed inside. The halls were busy with Marines, doctors, and refugees shuffling past. SFC Silverdan pushed against the side of the hall as a gurney was pushed by with a bleeding refugee on it. "As you three have probably guessed, this is the one of the refugee centers for the city. There are five other locations spread out around where civilians were to evacuate to until the UNSC could get them off planet… or at least to a safer location. It's packed to the brim here, food is going to be a problem soon, water is getting stretched thin enough, general bickering is probably the biggest issue currently. Thankfully, that's not our domain. The Kabul PD has officers at every refugee center and they attempt to keep things orderly.

"The Lieutenant didn't mention your callsigns. Personally, I do not know how the 72nd did their things, but from what I have heard, it was fairly relaxed. We're the exact opposite. 2nd battalion is not an expeditionary force, we aren't scouts. The lone squad thing does not fly. You three and your squads are part of a larger unit that functions as a whole. I'll leave you to meet your squads. Sergeant Halverson, your new callsign is Bravo 15. You're in charge of Bravos sixteen to nineteen. You're squad is in this room on the right."

Brandy nodded and walked into the conference room on the right. The SFC continued as they walked down the hall, "Sergeant Broward, you're Bravo 20, leader of squad 4. Your new squad is a bit devious, even by our standards. Be forewarned, they are a bit of a handful, but the LT think's you can get them under control. Bravos 21 to 24 are under your reins. They're in the the office to the right and two doors on the left. I'll check in with you later, Sergeant." Jason departed from the group, leaving just Eric and SFC Silverdan.

After Jason left, Silverdan stopped in front of a room where a Marine was on a gurney. The private had half of his head wrapped with dressings and was missing his right hand entirely. His armor was ripped and shredded. Silverdan looked down at the marine and said, "Private, may I relieve you of your weapon?" The Marine nodded and reached, with his good arm, to the other side of his gurney. He pulled up a battle rifle by the barrel. Silverdan took it from the private's hand and tossed it to Eric. "Sergeant, this will be a little more friendly inside a city than that SRS99 you've got on your back."

Eric studied the battle rifle for a second. He looked up at Silverdan who said, "Sergeant, you ever used one of those before?" Eric looked back down at the rifle and then said, "No, Sergeant First Class, I haven't."

The SFC chuckled and then glanced to the private. "Private, please tell him about your weapon." The marine groaned as he turned over and said, "Sergeant, that rifle is the BR55HB SR. It is a magazine fed, gas operated designated marksman service rifle. It has a bullpup configuration and is chambered in the nine point five by forty millimeter round. Accurate to a thousand meters, it is suited for medium to long range combat." Silverdan put a hand on the marine's shoulder and said, "That's enough, private. I think he gets the idea." Eric nodded.

As he and the SFC began to walk away, the marine called up to them, "Sergeant, you give them hell with that rifle. You make 'em hurt for what they did to me!" Eric glanced back at the man as he collapsed back onto the gurney. "What happened to him?" he asked, looking at Silverdan.

Turning a corner, he got his reply, "Poor bastard got swarmed by buggers. Damn things tried to eat him alive. If we hadn't shown up, they probably would have succeeded. " They walked in silence for a few hallways until they reached a closed door next to what was at one time a surgery suite. The SFC stopped and took off his helmet, revealing a round, almost pudgy face. There were a series of scars running from his neck up to his cheek that looked like claw marks. Eric took off his helmet in kind. Silverdan tucked his helmet under his arm and ran a hand through his silver and brown hair. "This is your stop, Sergeant. Bravos 11 through 14 are under your control. I'm sure you can figure out your own callsign. Though, before you head in, I have one question, Sergeant."

Eric took his hand away from the door activator and looked down at the SFC, who was nearly a head shorter than him. "Yes, Sergeant First Class?" Silverdan lowered his voice and asked. "How well do you trust those two? I have only seen what I have been allowed to. No offense, Sergeant, but there are others in this platoon who are just as deserving as those two to be promoted. One of those individuals is in your squad. So how well can Broward and Halverson fill those roles?"

Eric leaned forward and responded quietly, "Sergeant First Class, I trust those two more than anyone else I have ever known. If I had to choose between a battalion of SPARTANS and Halverson and Broward, I would pick them. They are the finest soldiers I have met." Silverdan nodded, leaned back and tapped the door control.

The door slid aside to what had been a hospital room at one point. All the furniture had been thrown to one side of the room and the rest left open. It was bright, except for the large window at the far end, through which the stormy city outside could be seen. Two troopers were looking out the window with binoculars and a spotter scope, one was lying on one of the beds that had been pushed against the wall and smoking a cigarette, and another was playing a card game on the floor.

When Eric walked in, the trooper on the bed snuffed out the cigarette on her armor and hopped to the floor, crying, "Squad, attention!" The other soldiers jumped to their feet and snapped to attention. Sergeant First Class Silverdan nodded and said, "At ease." He threw a thumb Eric's direction and continued, "Squad, meet your new sergeant. Corporal Misriah, after your little meet and greet, show Sergeant Segraves around our current lodgings." With that, Silverdan turned around and walked out.

There was an awkward silence while Eric faced off the new squad. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, "Names and ranks. We'll get to know each other soon enough. I'm Sergeant Eric Segraves." The thin, pale girl in front of the bed said, "Name's Corporal Aamilah Misriah. I'll be your fireteam leader, Sergeant." She hopped back up onto the bed and lit her cigarette again.

Behind her, the two troopers at the window took off their helmets. Eric was surprised to see they were nearly identical twins, though one was male and the other female. The female spoke up in a heavy Scottish accent, "I'm Tedra, Tedra Grant. Private First Class. This is my brother Teddy." To her left, her brother said, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sergeant!"

Eric turned his gaze to the last soldier, a dark, thick man who stood up and shook his hand. "Lance c-Corporal Timothy Gaunte, Sergeant. It's good to meet you."

Eric nodded and said, "Likewise, Squad. You all look like a solid group of troopers, and I expect nothing but results from you. Now do not take it as if I don't want to stay, but I would like to get a sense of this place. Corporal Misriah?"

"Yes, Sergeant?" Misriah dropped her hand holding the cigarette from her mouth. She hopped off the bed and snuffed the cigarette out again on her shoulder pauldron.

"I'll take the tour of this place now. Squad, I'll meet you back here at oh six hundred hours." He turned to face Misriah again. "Corporal?"

"Right after you, Sergeant."

With that, he and Corporal Misriah exited the room. As the door slid closed, she pointed to her left and said, "This way leads to the head, there's only two of them in this section of the floor. Follow me."

He fell into step beside her as she opened up a pouch on her chest plate and dropped her snuffed cigarette inside. Once they reached the restrooms, he noticed the line of marines and ODST's at both doors. "Why are there only two for this section, Corporal. Don't the rooms have their own?"

She nodded and said, "The guy running the hospital has asked that we do not use the room ones. He says the refugees should get first privileges to the showers."

"Ah. I see."

She motioned for him to follow as she turned to the left again. "This corridor will lead to what was a mess hall. Now it's pretty much a game room, considering all the food there is gone and nobody is serving any."

"What are the refugees eating, then?"

"They get whatever leftover rations we can find for them. Food was the first thing that ran out. It's a good thing that they're getting evacuated in just a few days, from what I've heard."

"I'd say so, Corporal. How long have they been low on food?"

"Only for about five days, but the situation is still bad. I've heard there are almost half a million refugees in this building alone."

"I understand your concern, Corporal."

They arrived at the cafeteria to see marines and ODSTs mingling with refugees, playing cards and games. "This is it. Not much else on this floor, Sergeant. Only thing else I can think of would be the executive offices, but I'm not sure why you'd need to go there."

Eric nodded and asked, "Could you show me to there, Corporal? I've got several things to ask."

"If you insist, Sergeant." Misriah replied as she started walking down the hallway. "What do you need to know?"

"Well, Corporal, how would you describe the squad?"

"In what way?"

"Combat effectiveness, personalities, etc."

"Ah, well I was attached to the UNSC Army at Fumirole earlier this year. Aside from that, I haven't seen combat action since. The rest of the squad is about as green as an ODST can be. They'll take anything that can be thrown at them.

"As for their personalities, we have a mixed variety. The Grant twins are fairly happy-go-lucky, which is the opposite of Lance Corporal Gaunt. I think I may have seen him smile once. By the way, don't think any less of Gaunt because of his stutter. He's got good tactics. We've seen combat together before. He's saved my life more than once."

"Do any of them seem unstable, Corporal?"

"Persmission to speak freely, Sergeant?"

"Granted."

"Sergeant, we're all unstable. We have to be somewhat unhinged. We're all that's left to fight off the Covies. On top of that, we're all ODSTs. So we're all crazy anyway."

Eric smiled to himself at that last statement. "One final question, Corporal."

"Fair enough, shoot, Sergeant."

"Your surname, are you by chance related to the pistol in my holster, the rifle on my back, or the pelican that flew me in?"

Corporal Misriah laughed and nodded. "Yes, Sergeant, I guess you could put it that way. I'm the daughter of Abraham Misriah, owner and CEO of Misriah Armory. So technically I am related to most of your gear."

"I guess I can turn to you if I have any complaints about my rifle, Corporal." He looked over and winked at her. They turned to the left and began walking down a row of offices.

"Well, Sergeant, you shouldn't have any complaints about your SRS 99D. That is as long as you're using our hand loaded rounds and not those cheap-ass knockoffs." She added a wink back to him.

"So what does your father think of you joining the Corps?"

She pursed her lips and replied, "He was a little disappointed at first, but he was fully supportive after I graduated boot. He's still concerned for me, but I understand: I'm his only child. How did your parents take your enlistment?"

He was silent for a moment before he responded, "I'd say they took it badly. I have not seen or heard from them since I passed boot. They didn't want me to join the military, they wanted me to continue going to school and get a degree. I think my mother's last words before I left for boot were 'Son, I hope you know what you are doing.'"

Misriah looked down for a moment. "I'm sorry to hear that, Sergeant." There was a silent moment as they walked. A doctor walked between them and entered an office behind them. As the door opened, the doctor said, "Doctor, here are the reports for the surgery suites. Your wife asked for them."

Eric paid no attention. He replied, "It's not that big of a deal, Corporal." Behind him he heard the response to the doctor, "Ah, thank you, Doctor Stanzik. I'll see that they get to her." When he heard that, he stopped dead in his tracks.

Misriah turned around as she walked past. "You alright, Sergeant?"

He nodded quickly and said, "Go on ahead, I'll meet up with you later. Something's come up." When she stood staring, he shooed her away with a wave. "Go, that's an order, Corporal." She nodded and headed off as he turned around.

He walked toward the office. When he neared the doorway, he slipped his helmet back over his head. He paused for a moment as his HUD reactivated. As he was about to turn into the door, the doctor who had walked in bumped into him on the way out. He waved off the apology the man gave him as he entered the office.

The inside of the office was ornate. The furniture was a cherry colored wood, polished to a glare. There were multiple certificates hanging on the wall in frames that matched the furniture. The desk was completely organized, with papers stacked neatly in symmetrical rows. The man behind the desk had greying hair that was neatly trimmed as well as a short, close cut beard, which was equally as immaculate. The man turned to face him and said, "Sergeant, I already told your Lieutenant that you troopers were not supposed to use any facilities other than those I cleared them to use. Why are you here?"

Without answering, Eric set his rifles against the wall, next to the door, and took a seat in one of the two chairs located in front of the desk. The man behind the desk stood up and raised his voice, "What is the meaning of this intrusion, Sergeant!"

Eric leaned back into the chair and took off his helmet. "Yeah, yeah. Good to see you too, Father."


End file.
